Eubanks’ magical Wimbledon ends against Medvedev
Associated Press
Christopher Eubanks of the United States gestures to the crowd after losing to Russia’s Daniil Medvedev at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London.
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz celebrates winning the first set against Denmark's Holger Rune in a men's singles match at Wimbledon.
Christopher Eubanks of the United States at the net during his men's singles match against Russia's Daniil Medvedev.
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) – Chris Eubanks woke up Wednesday morning ahead of playing for a berth in the final four at Wimbledon against 2021 U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev and, first thing, like so many of us, reached for his phone to see what the buzz was about on Twitter.
“It was just constant me,” Eubanks said. “I was just like, ‘This is so weird.’ I looked at it. I was like, ‘Man, I’m really about to play a Grand Slam quarterfinal today. This is cool.'”
He took less than 10 minutes to let that sink in, then, as the 27-year-old American who captivated the crowds at the All England Club and many folks back home put it, “was able to lock back in.” And so he pushed Medvedev the distance, taking a two-sets-to-one lead before running out of aces and energy.
Basking in the roars from the stands at No. 1 Court, the unseeded Eubanks came within four points of winning to extend his deepest run, by far, at a major tournament before Medvedev pulled away for a 6-4, 1-6, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-1 victory to reach the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time.
“It’s like his level elevated into the fifth,” Eubanks said, “where I had a little bit of a drop.”
If Medvedev was unsteady for a bit, perhaps distracted by a back-and-forth with the chair umpire over a stray ball that headed toward the stands, he gathered himself well.
“Happy that I managed to put myself back together. There was a moment in the match I started just losing kind of everything – the focus, the momentum of the match,” said the No. 3-seeded Medvedev, who will face No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals Friday. “When I started losing it, I was like, ‘All right, what’s happening? Why is it happening like this?'”
Alcaraz’s 7-6 (3), 6-4, 6-4 victory over No. 6 Holger Rune at Centre Court was the first men’s quarterfinal at Wimbledon in the Open era, which dates to 1968, with two players who are not yet 21. Both Spain’s Alcaraz, who won last year’s U.S. Open, and Denmark’s Rune are 20.
In the women’s quarterfinals, Ons Jabeur eliminated defending champion Elena Rybakina 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-1 in a rematch of last year’s title match, and reigning Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka defeated No. 25 seed Madison Keys 6-2, 6-4.
No. 6 Jabeur plays No. 2 Sabalenka on Thursday, when the other semifinal will be between unseeded players Elina Svitolina and Marketa Vondrousova. None of the four remaining women has won Wimbledon; Sabalenka is the only one who already owns a major trophy.
Sabalenka, who is from Belarus, and Medvedev, who is from Russia, were banned from the All England Club a year ago, along with every player representing those two countries, over the invasion of Ukraine. The war continues, but Russians and Belarusians were allowed back this time.