By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday July 26, 2023
Chris Eubanks saved all seven break points he faced to reach the quarterfinals at Atlanta for the first time since 2017.
Photo Source: TTV
Chris Eubanks continues to ride the hot hand on home turf.
The 27-year-old American, a quarterfinalist at Wimbledon earlier this month and playing at a career-high ranking of 32, reached the quarterfinals at the Atlanta Open for the first time in six years on Wednesday, edging compatriot Brandon Nakashima 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-5 in two hours and 21 minutes.
How did the Atlanta native lock up his 11 win in his last 12 ATP matches?
“Serving well and the crowd got behind me,” he told the crowd. “I genuinely feel like I was outplayed for the vast majority of that match, probably all the way up until four-all in the second set – I think Brandon was playing pretty well.”
In a hotly contested first tour-level meeting between the pair, it was Eubanks who shone in the critical moments. He converted both break points he faced and saved all seven break opportunities with clutch serving. Eubanks hammered 21 aces on the evening and rallied from 0-40 down to lock up the victory, after notching the critical break a game earlier to take a 6-5 lead.
“He had more chances on my serve than I had his,” Eubanks said of Nakashima, who drops to 8-13 on the season, adding: “Things started to come together a little bit and I was able to put together a few points when I needed to.”
Eubanks, who hit 51 winners in total, will face Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic in a battle of former NCAA standouts in the quarterfinals.
Vukic reached his first quarterfinal of 2023, defeating Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(3).
Elsewhere, two-time Atlanta Open champion Alex de Minaur improved to 10-1 lifetime at Atlanta Station with a 6-3, 6-4 takedown of compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis.
De Minaur will face Ugo Humbert, who toppled Lloyd Harris, 7-6(6), 6-4, in the quarterfinals.