Christopher Eubanks continued his red-hot grass-season Saturday by reaching the fourth round of a major for the first time at Wimbledon. A surprise development to some, perhaps, given that the American is a debutant at the grass-court major, but not to World No. 3 Daniil Medvedev.
“I say with my coach that he has kind of — I don't know if it's the same in English like it is in French — total tennis,” said Medvedev of Eubanks in his post-match press conference on Saturday after his third-round win against Marton Fucsovics. “He is not scared of anything. He just goes for it. [He] hits very, very fast and goes to the net as soon as he has the opportunity, has a big serve.
“From what I saw, because I’ve known him for a long time, he managed to find something this year which I don't think he had before. The consistency of doing back-to-back matches, not missing too much, going for the same shots, just being consistent.”
Medvedev prevailed in straight sets against Eubanks in the pair’s maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting in March in Miami. Since then, the American has risen to a career-high No. 43 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and lifted his first ATP Tour title at the Mallorca Championships. The 27-year-old Eubanks will take on fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas next at the All England Club.
“A first title gives you wings, if we can say it like this,” said 20-time tour-level titlist Medvedev. “We can see it here [at Wimbledon]. So right now, it seems like he's going to be a player to beat for many more years to come. But we never know. For the moment he is playing great, so not much more to add.”
With his 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory against Fucsovics, Medvedev advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon for the second time. The only major where he is yet to make a quarter-final appearance, the 27-year-old is feeling positive as he prepares to take on Czech star Jiri Lehecka in the last 16.
“I'm very motivated, very determined,” said Medvedev. “I said it before the tournament, that I want to do well here. The thing is that everyone can play well. We saw today, Marton played well. I managed to turn the match around. Great. I play Jiri next. He's a really strong opponent. I think on grass he can be really dangerous. I'm going to try my best to at least equal [my best Roland Garros] performance.
“For sure, right now, by the results, it's sure that on clay and the grass I play less good than on hard courts. But I want to try to change it and try to be in the finals of Slams playing the best players, even on these surfaces. That's another chance for me this year.
“I hope I can continue playing the way I played today. I felt like I played well. Hopefully I can continue this way through the tournament. I'm going to have my chances.”
Reaching SUPER speed 🏃♂️ @DaniilMedwed | @Wimbledon | #wimbledonpic.twitter.com/XeLBrUfU6B
— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 8, 2023
Medvedev has won five ATP Tour titles (a joint Tour-leading tally with Carlos Alcaraz) in a standout 2023 season. Having produced such consistent form so far this year, the third-seeded Medvedev is keen to extend his success to the major as he chases a second Grand Slam crown to add to his 2021 US Open triumph.
“It's a great feeling to win titles. The bigger the title, the better,” said Medvedev. “[Reaching the final at an event] I would say is great for experience, but it is not the same. It's always better to be in the final than lose in the first round, but still a title is better.
“I'm really happy for my season, but I have two Grand Slams to come. One is going over right now. I hope that I can do well during them.”
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