WIMBLEDON, England — A month ago, Chris Eubanks kicked off the grass court portion of the season leading as much as Wimbledon at the lower tier ATP Challenger Tour tournament in Surbiton, England.
The 27-year-old American walked away with a prize money of around $2,500 after losing in two sets within the second round to a player outside the highest 100, which only reinforced his aversion to grass surfaces.
Searching for answers, Eubanks contacted Kim Clijsters, a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame and four-time Grand Slam champion whom he had befriended while playing for World TeamTennis.
“I used to be just a bit frustrated,” he said. “I texted her and said, ‘Grass is the dumbest surface to play tennis. Why will we play tennis – a sport where the ball has to bounce – on a really uneven surface? And you’ll be able to’t move it.”
Well, now look at Eubanks: he knocked out No. 12 seed Cam Norrie of Great Britain 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (3) in 2 ¹/₂ hours on Wimbledon No. 1 court on Friday 21 aces and a complete of 63 winners to advance to the third round of a Grand Slam tournament for the primary time.
“Biggest win of my profession, surely. Definitely,” said Eubanks, who dabbled in television commentator work. “Given the moment. Given the scene. Who I played. Where did I play it.
![Christopher Eubanks of the United States celebrates winning his match against Cameron Norrie of Great Britain.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/GettyImages-1522814041.jpg?w=1024)
After Clijsters offered some advice on exercises to assist with footwork on grass – just so happens Eubanks said the identical things his coach suggested – a lot has modified.
Eubanks got here out and won the grass tournament in Mallorca, Spain last week, claiming his first ATP Tour title and moving as much as the forty third profession rating.
He carried that momentum to the All England Club, where the two-time NCAA All-American at Georgia Tech will face Australia’s Christopher O’Connell on Saturday for a fourth round spot.
And perhaps – just perhaps – Eubanks feels a bit higher playing green than he did in early June.
“He’s a very different person now, that is all I can inform you,” Eubanks said. “Now I like grass.”
![Christopher Eubanks plays a forehand against Britain's Cameron Norrie, resulting in what he called](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/GettyImages-1522843887.jpg?w=1024)
In other men’s motion, Andy Murray lost a heartbreaking five-set set to Stefanos Tsitsipas in a match that lasted over 4 ¹/₂ hours and continued after being suspended on Thursday attributable to weather.
The delay got here when Murray had two sets to at least one lead.
But he ultimately suffered a tricky defeat 7-6(3), 6-7(2), 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 in what can have been his last match at Wimbledon.
“After all I’m very dissatisfied now. You never know the way many opportunities you’ll need to play here,” said Murray, adding that he doesn’t know if this might be his last Wimbledon. “Failures can seem a bit harder. But truthfully, every 12 months when Wimbledon doesn’t go the way in which I need it to, it has been hard.
It was Murray’s second consecutive second-round outing on three of his biggest triumphs: the 2012 Olympic gold medal and the 2013 and 2016 Wimbledon championships.
![Andy Murray reacts during his second round matchup with Stefanos Tsitsipas.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/NYPICHPDPICT000013733378.jpg?w=1024)
![Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates with Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka in their third round men's singles match.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/NYPICHPDPICT000013736434.jpg?w=1024)
His trophy ten years ago was the primary singles award for a Briton in 77 years at the All England Club.
Murray has not progressed past the third round of any Grand Slam tournament because the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in 2017.
“I mean, in the long run, it was a possibility for me. For the primary time in a protracted time, I had a superb likelihood of a superb run at a Grand Slam. I didn’t take it, he said.
In other motion, Novak Djokovic advanced to the fourth round while chasing some more significant numbers – his fifth consecutive title at Wimbledon; eighth overall; 24. from all directions – doing Stan Wawrinka’s quick work 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 (5).
Djokovic lost 5-3 in the ultimate additional time before scoring the ultimate 4 points.
Andrei Rublev, No. 7, and Jannik Sinner, No. 8, also advanced to the fourth round, while Carlos Alcaraz, No. 1, and Daniil Medvedev, No. 3, also advanced.
Woman No. 1, Iga Świątek, made it to the fourth round – she was never further into the All England Club – as did Jessica Pegula No. 4; No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, two-time champion Petra Kvitova and 2022 runner-up Ons Jabeur made it to the third round.
But Caroline Garcia, No. 5, lost 7-6 (0), 4-6, 7-5 to Marie Bouzkova, No. 32. – AP