Wimbledon: Americans Chris Eubanks, Madison Keys advance to quarterfinals amid unexpected success

Americans Chris Eubanks and Madison Keys made major waves at Wimbledon on Monday. As two of just three Americans left in the main draw, they weren't expected to do too much. There's so much talent in tennis right now that even those with great skills can get left behind.

But Eubanks and Keys turned around that narrative, unexpectedly advancing to the quarterfinals to keep the hopes of an American champion alive. They're not the first (or second, or perhaps even third) players you'd think of as possible champions, but now they have a real shot of making that happen.

Eubanks knocks off Tsitsipas for first top-5 win

Eubanks, the unseeded 27-year-old who was thinking about quitting tennis a year ago to focus solely on broadcasting, beat No. 5 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6, 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 on Monday. Tsitsipas is the first top-five player Eubanks has ever beaten, and Eubanks beat him to make his very first Grand Slam quarterfinal.

It didn't seem like Eubanks would triumph at the start. He wasn't sharp and won just three games in the 26-minute first set. But he found an edge in the second set, matching Tsitsipas shot for shot and starting to show off his fabulous serve. The third set was another sub-30 minute disappointment for Eubanks, but the last two sets were fierce battles. Once he wiped away the memory of the third set, he played smart, powerful, controlled tennis, letting his strengths dictate the match.

Tsitsipas could see Eubanks gaining momentum and tried to stop him, tying it up a few times in the final set, but he just couldn't stop the Eubanks train.

With Coco Gauff supporting him in the crowd, Eubanks soaked up the adoration of the fans, who always love an underdog.

Eubanks is a grinder. He played at Georgia Tech but left before his senior year (2017) to turn pro, and over time struggled to gain a foothold in the sport. A year ago he was stuck on the challenger circuit and mired in the latter part of the top 140, so he started doing some tennis broadcasting on the side to prepare for his life after tennis — which would be coming soon if he didn't figure out how to improve.

He was great at broadcasting and recently told ESPN that breaking down serves, shots and volleys for viewers really helped him fix his game. Now he has a nine-match winning streak on grass and will face Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals.

Keys back in Wimbledon quarterfinals for first time since 2015

After six matches of brilliant play (including qualifiers), 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva's dream run at the All England Club has come to an unceremonious end.

Madison Keys, one of two American women left in the women's draw, defeated Russia's Andreeva 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 in a tough match that required Keys to play all three sets and pull off a comeback.

Andreeva almost won the match in two sets. She came out strong against Keys, taking advantage of Keys' slow start to smash her way to a first-set win in 32 minutes. In the second set, Andreeva jumped out to a 3-0 lead that soon went to 4-1. But then Keys came alive. She won three straight games to tie the score at 4-4 and then managed to force a tiebreak, which she won fairly quickly.

Keys was on a roll in the final set. She won three of the first four games, then cruised to the win having lost just two games. But there was a little wrinkle at the end that gave Keys match point. In the final game, Andreeva slipped and fell while trying to save a point, and her racket flew out of her hand. Normally that's not an issue, but Andreeva had thrown her racket in frustration earlier in the match and was given a warning by chair umpire Louise Azemar Engzell.

So when Engzell saw Andreeva release the racket again, she docked the young player a point — even though Andreeva insisted she slipped and the racket unintentionally fell out of her hand — which brought up match point for Keys.

Andreeva refused to shake the umpire's hand after the match, which is not a good look. But she's just 16 years old and in uncharted territory. That's not the way anyone wants a Cinderella run to end.

Though to be fair, Keys wasn't exactly heartbroken. The prospect of losing to a literal teenager was looming large early in the match, and Keys was just glad she made it to the next round — her first time in the Wimbledon quarterfinals since 2015.

Keys isn't exactly unheralded. She's the No. 18 women's tennis player in the world and was seeded 25th at Wimbledon. But so much of the focus of American women's tennis has been on Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff that it feels unexpected for anyone besides them to succeed.