Chris Eubank’s is the talk of the town since his impressive run at the Wimbledon Championships and this time it was Former ATP #4 James Blake who sang praises for the 27-year old’s game, work ethic and fun personality. The American has recorded a fairytale run at the grass swing this season after starting the season outside the top 120 in the rankings but reached the quarterfinal at the Floridian Masters. The Clay spell in the summers was certainly a disappointment and three months after his breakout run at Miami, his game suddenly started to click as he won his maiden tour level title by sealing the deal at Mallorca Championships in Spain.
He took the flight at SW19, where he upset British hope and national #1 Cameron Norrie in the R2 and overcame world No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final 16. In his second quarterfinals of the year, the American faced Daniil Medvedev to exit the tournament after a five-set loss. The magical run was completed and he left his mark not just on the court by the quality of his game but also his fun personality that earned him many fans.
While cherishing those amazing runs at grass, the American reached his career-high rank of #29 seed but Blake suggests there is more to come from the player.
“I’ve always thought that being yourself on the court really endears you to fans. Whether that’s Pete Sampras, very inward and very focused and that’s it, or you’re having fun or Marat Safin who’s breaking rackets, Eubanks is genuinely like that and I think that shines through to the fans where he’s having fun out there and they see that. They want to have fun because he’s playing a game and they’re watching a game and they’re there to be entertained, and he’s just having a great time,” the two-time US Open quarter-finalist told Sky Sports.
The New York native who announced retirement in August 2013 has won 10 tour level titles also highlighted the work ethic of his compatriot.
“Don’t get me wrong, he’s got the work ethic, he’s doing everything he can, but he’s also having a good time while he’s doing it and I think that’s going to shine through and I think fans are going to really appreciate that and it’s a reason they’re going to gravitate to him even more.
“He’s going to be one of the stars at the US Open. He might be on the side of a bus, he might be up on billboards and for him a year ago to be playing Challengers in Korea and just toiling away, trying to get points to be in the top 100, to be a star in New York, and New York goes crazy for two weeks for the US Open. For him to be one of those stars is going to be hopefully a life-changing experience for him, in a positive way,” continued Blake.
Eubanks is all set to find a seeding at the home major in New York to secure a comparatively easier run at Flushing Meadows than SW19 and last year’s US Open where he had to play qualifiers and eventually lost to the event’s semifinalist Jannik Sinner in R2.
The 43-year old added: “A lot of times people go in one of two directions; they shy away from that and they don’t like it or they just embrace it and then it makes them kind of motivated [thinking] ‘this is fun, I could get used to this. Let me do this all the time and let me keep working my tail off so I can be on a billboard every year when I come back to the US Open.’ So, I hope it’s going to be fun for him. I hope he’s got that work ethic and I hope he enjoys being a superstar because that is what he is in the making.”