Eubanks Stuns Third Seed In US Open Qualifying
Christopher Eubanks’s hopes of a second US Open main draw berth received a boost on Wednesday, following the 25-year-old’s upset of third seed Daniel Elahi Galan in the first round of qualifying.
The No. 216 in the FedEx ATP Rankings needed just under an hour to post a 6-3, 6-2 victory over the Colombian and in the process snapped a three-match losing streak following back-to-back ATP Challenger defeats and a tour-level loss in Washington, D.C. Eubanks – who won an ATP Challenger title in Orlando, Florida, in June – converted four of six break points and was dominant on serve.
The American fired 10 aces and won 83 per cent of first-serve points to set up a showdown with India’s Prajnesh Gunneswaran, a 6-4, 7-6(5) winner over Canadian Brayden Schnur. Eubanks’ only previous trip to a US Open main draw came two years ago, when as a wild card he fell to 31st seed Cristian Garin in five sets.
Croatian Ivo Karlovic ensured the last tournament of his career extended at least one more match in US Open qualifying. On Court 16, the 42-year-old denied Serbian Nikola Milojevic 6-4, 7-6(1) in 86 minutes.
Karlovic, whose best result at Flushing Meadows was a run to the fourth round in 2016, lost only six points on serve and struck 18 aces. The former World No. 14 next meets Bolivian 17th seed Hugo Dellien, a 6-1, 6-3 winner over Italian Alessandro Giannessi.
Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis’ bid for a first US Open main draw berth in two years got off to a solid start on Wednesday with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over American Bjorn Fratangelo. The former World No. 69 pushed third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas to five sets in the second round of the Australian Open in February but has endured a frustrating run since.
The 25-year-old’s two standout results in 2021 have been at ATP Challenger level, with a title on clay in Biella, Italy and a semi-final appearance in Lexington, in the US, last month. Kokkinakis next meets Yuichi Sugita, following the Japanese player’s 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Spain’s Mario Vilella Martinez.
Former World No. 10 Ernests Gulbis had his best showing at Flushing Meadows 14 years ago when he made the fourth round on debut. On Wednesday, he moved a step closer to a first US Open main draw berth since 2017 when he pulled off a 6-3, 6-4 win over Australian 26th seed Marc Polmans. Filip Horansky is next after the Slovak’s 7-6(4), 7-6(9) win over Denmark’s Mikael Torpegaard.