Chris Eubanks pulled off another Wimbledon upset. What to know about the American's run

The run of a lifetime for Chris Eubanks continues.

All the way to the Wimbledon quarterfinals.

The 27-year old Atlanta native and former Georgia Tech standout who had spent most of his pro career toiling in the minor leagues of tennis pulled off another significant upset Monday in the round of 16, taking out No. 5 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.

After getting thoroughly outplayed for the first part of the match but staying in it thanks to a Tsitsipas double fault in the second set tiebreaker, Eubanks managed to break serve late in the fourth set to push the match to a decider. Then he broke again straight away to start the fifth as his one-handed backhand caught fire and put him in the lead for the first time. Though Eubanks lost that break with a rare poor serve game, he got it right back immediately with a flurry of spectacular ground strokes and then served out the match despite some obvious nerves.

Ranked No. 123 in the world to start this year, Eubanks is now guaranteed to be in the top 35 next week and has a good chance to be seeded at the U.S. Open. He'll also take home at least $436,000 for making the quarterfinals -- which would be more than a third of his $1.2 million career earnings prior to 2023.

The 6-foot-7, big serving Eubanks isn't done yet. He'll play No. 3 seed and 2021 U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev on Wednesday. Here’s everything you need to know about one of tennis’ new faces.

How broadcasting helped Chris Eubanks' game

Not so long ago, it seemed like Eubanks' biggest impact in tennis was going to be in the broadcast booth rather than the show courts at Wimbledon. During the summer of 2021, he was outside the top 200 in the rankings and reconsidering his future.

“I got a real sit-down with my agent and (said) if I'm still 200 by next year and injuries haven’t played a part, I can do something else with my time,” Eubanks said last Friday. “It’s not that glamorous ranked around 200.”

So when Eubanks started showing up on the Tennis Channel, doing week-long stints here and there, it felt like a transition was underway. And perhaps more than any other active player that has taken opportunities to do commentary, Eubanks was really, really good at it. No matter how long he wanted to play, he had a natural bridge to his next career.

As it turns out, the broadcast booth may be part of why Eubanks is surging at this stage of his career. Eubanks said being able to analyze what other players are doing right and wrong on the court has helped him take the emotion out of looking at his own play and not be as frustrated if he makes a mistake.

“If I’m in the booth, I can say, 'That’s a good error,’” Eubanks said. "I think commentary has really helped my game, helped my ability to watch the match and play into a style and I plan to continue on doing it.”

If anything, this run will only open more doors for Eubanks to be a prominent tennis broadcaster when he stops playing — or even now, as he said he plans to continue taking those opportunities “no matter what my ranking is.”

Chris Eubanks' scouting report

The basis of Eubanks’ game has always been his serve. At 6-foot-7, Eubanks generates power and kick that gives him a lot of easy points, matched with a powerful forehand and good net skills: A good combination for the slick grass surface at Wimbledon.

But the consistency of his ground strokes, and particularly his one-handed backhand, just wasn’t there against higher-level competition and held him back from competing regularly on the ATP Tour.

Eubanks finally won a first-round match at last year’s U.S. Open, his sixth time in the main draw of a Grand Slam, and did the same in this year’s Australian Open. But he admitted it was frustrating to get a taste of the big stage and not see those results translate when he went back to the Challenger Tour, one level below the ATP.

“That was one of the driving forces behind me even starting to do commentary,” Eubanks said. “I said, ‘This isn't fun. If I’ve got to keep doing this, I've got to find something else to do.”

But things changed quickly in March at the Miami Open, one of the biggest tournaments outside the Grand Slams. After winning two qualifying matches to get into the main draw, Eubanks won four in a row to reach the quarterfinals, knocking off top-20 player Borna Coric and veteran Adrian Mannarino along the way.

Chris Eubanks' major ascent in 2023

The ranking points Eubanks earned in Miami boosted him from No. 119 to No. 85. He continued to stack solid results from there but made his biggest breakthrough the week before Wimbledon at the Mallorca Open on grass, where he took his first-ever ATP title, beating Mannarino again in the final.

Riding a huge wave of confidence, Eubanks dispatched Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro in the first round at the All England Club and then pulled off a big upset Friday, defeating last year’s semifinalist and top-ranked British player Cameron Norrie in four sets. By the end of the match, the British crowd had clearly taken to him and gave him a standing ovation for the performance.

They stayed on his side in the third round against Australia's Chris O'Connell and again Monday. Eubanks credited the fans for helping him find a second wind after a rough start to the match against Tsitsipas.

"I feel like I'm living a dream right now," Eubanks said in his on-court interview. "Absolutely insane."

Eubanks will face Medvedev for the second time this year. Medvedev finally ended his run in Miami 6-3, 7-5 but it was a competitive match the entire way through and was arguably his toughest test at that tournament on his way to the title.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chris Eubanks at Wimbledon: How the American surged into quarterfinals