Christopher Eubanks had already locked up a first-ever appearance in the top 100, a feat he accomplished by beating Gregoire Barrere in the Miami Open third round.
But he wasn’t satisfied.
Euabanks came back out less than 24 hours later and defeated Adrian Mannarino 7-6(2), 7-6(5) to book an improbable spot in the quarterfinals. The 26-year-old American, who is projected to reach at least No. 85 in the world next week, has now won six matches this fortnight. He had to qualify just to get into the main draw and then beat Lukas Klein and Borna Coric prior to his victories over the Frenchmen.
However, the competition is about to get a whole lot tougher on Thursday. Up next for Eubanks is none other than Daniil Medvedev, who has reached the final in each of his last four tournaments. The fifth-ranked Russian captured titles in Rotterdam, Doha, and Dubai before finishing runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz in Indian Wells. Maintaining his stellar form in Miami, Medvedev has advanced with straight-set defeats of Roberto Carballes Baena and Quentin Halys (he also got a walkover from Alex Molcan).
This is a tough matchup for Eubanks, just as it is for pretty much everyone on tour right now–except maybe Carlos Alcaraz. Medvedev is going to stand a million miles behind the baseline and do whatever he can to get Eubanks’ serves back in the court in hopes of forcing the underdog to play a lot of long rallies. As he has been all tournament long, Eubanks will do the exact opposite: take balls early and play first-strike tennis in an effort to play quick points.
The world No. 119 may be able to be somewhat competitive if he serves extremely well, but Medvedev will likely end the run here and continue his own march to yet another final.
Pick: Medvedev in 2
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Love the Eubanks story…and he went to Ga Tech!….but….Med in 2.