Christopher Eubanks’ red-hot run on the grass shows little sign of abating at Wimbledon.

The American held his nerve to upset fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6, 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 on Monday and reach his maiden major quarter-final at SW19. Eubanks, who lifted his first ATP Tour title in Mallorca prior to Wimbledon, prevailed against the Greek in a serve-dominated encounter defined by short, sharp rallies to seal his ninth consecutive tour-level win.

“I feel like I’m living a dream right now. This is absolutely insane,” said an elated Eubanks in his on-court interview. “When you paint all of the context… I’ve tried so much to just block everything out and focus on the next match, as cliché as it sounds, but [reaching my first major quarter-final] is surreal. I can’t believe it.”

What it’s all about 🫶@chris_eubanks96 defeats No.5 seed Tsitsipas 3-6, 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to advance into the quarter-finals! Wimbledon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@Wimbledon | #Wimbeldon

pic.twitter.com/VKcCSCNHQu

— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 10, 2023

The key to Eubanks’ victory on No. 2 Court was his ability to be clinical with his chances on return. He did not carve out a single break point in the first three sets, but after Tsitsipas double faulted to gift him the decisive break in the ninth game of the fourth set, the American twice powered clean backhand down-the-line winners to convert break points in the decider as he wrapped a famous three-hour, four-minute triumph.

“The funny thing about tennis is that you’re not always going to play your best,” said Eubanks. “You’ve just got to play really good at certain times, and I feel like I did that really well today all around.

“When it came to really important times, I feel like I executed really clearly, and I played well. I feel like I had ups and downs, which you can imagine [playing] for the first time in the fourth round of a Slam, but I came up clutch when I needed to.”

After Roman Safiullin also reached the last eight in London, Eubanks’ victory marked the first time in the Open Era that multiple Wimbledon debutants have reached the men’s singles quarter-finals. The American will next take on third seed Daniil Medvedev, who earlier led his fourth-round clash against Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-2 when the Czech retired due to injury.

A Eubanks win had earlier appeared unlikely after Tsitsipas came out firing behind his delivery in the pair’s maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting. The Greek dropped just nine points on serve across the first and second sets, but a double fault at 3/4 in the second-set tie-break proved pivotal as Eubanks levelled the match at one set all.

Undeterred by that disappointment, Tsitsipas again assumed control with a dominant third-set display, as his serve and huge forehand worked in sync to overpower Eubanks. Yet the American showcased plenty of resilience to stick with the World No. 5, and another Tsitsipas double fault at 4-5, 30/40 sent the match to a decider.

With an enraptured crowd relishing every point, it was Eubanks who channelled the raucous atmosphere most effectively. His backhands to break in both the first and seventh games reflected his recent surge of self-belief on grass, as did the crushing forehand winner he delivered on match point to seal his maiden Top 5 triumph.

“The grass and I have had a very strenuous, I would say, relationship over the years,” said Eubanks. “But right now, I think it’s my best friend.”

Novak Djokovic is on the verge of reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals, but will need to return to the court Monday to complete the job against 17th seed Hubert Hurkacz.

Djokovic has been unable the crack the service game of Hurkacz, who has still not lost serve in the tournament (58 service games). However, the second seed rallied from down a late mini-break in each of the two tie-breaks, saving three set points in the first set for a 7-6(6), 7-6(6) lead.

Tournament referee Gerry Armstrong suspended play after the end of the second set, at 10:35 p.m. local time, given it was very unlikely the match would be played to a conclusion before the 11 p.m. curfew.

[Suspense builds up…]@DjokerNole and @HubertHurkacz will come back tomorrow 💪Wimbledon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@Wimbledon | Wimbledon?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/MxAHr3s4kr

— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 9, 2023

Hurkacz delivered a jaw-dropping display with his first serve throughout the first two sets, hitting 23 aces and winning 81 per cent of his first-serve points. Every time he was in any trouble, the 2021 Nitto ATP Finals competitor delivered a booming serve of more than 130mph.

However, Hurkacz struggled on return, winning just 18 per cent of his receiving points, which kept him from capitalising on his impressive serving. Djokovic’s first serve was not as visually impressive, but he won 88 per cent of those points.

Djokovic held onto his two service points from 3/6 in the first-set tie-break to save two set points and put pressure on his opponent. That paid dividends.

The 26-year-old Hurkacz crushed a 130mph first serve into the box on his third opportunity, but missed his placement too far from the T, allowing Djokovic to block it back. Hurkacz then rolled a forehand into the net to let slip his opportunity. The 17th seed made groundstroke errors in three consecutive points to lose the set. 

Hurkacz did well to continue holding onto his serve, despite Djokovic increasingly earning opportunities. At 3-4 0/40 in the second set, the Pole dug out of trouble with three consecutive serves of at least 134 mph. The ATP Tour’s clear 2023 leader in aces according to Infosys ATP Stats, Hurkacz delivered under service pressure and saved all five break points in the first two sets. He even hit a backhand drop volley with so much backspin, Djokovic crashed into the net.

Novak Djokovic” style=”width: 100%;” />^{Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images}
But Djokovic once again found a way to claim the tie-break despite trailing by a late mini-break. Hurkacz made a forehand unforced error to fall behind by two sets and is now one set from trailing the seven-time Wimbledon champion 0-6 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

Djokovic is now 20-4 in tie-breaks this season and has won 14 in a row at the majors, dating back to when he lost a tie-break to Enzo Couacaud in the second round of the Australian Open. If the 36-year-old advances, he will reach his 14th Wimbledon quarter-final, tying Jimmy Connors for second most men’s singles quarter-finals in tournament history behind only Roger Federer (18).

The winner between Djokovic and Hurkacz will play seventh seed Andrey Rublev, who defeated Alexander Bublik in five sets earlier in the day.

Did You Know?
This is the first time Djokovic has won the first two sets in tie-breaks at Wimbledon since the 2007 quarter-finals, in which he defeated Marcos Baghdatis 7-6(4), 7-6(9), 6-7(3), 6-4, 7-5.

Simplicity is working wonders for Grigor Dimitrov at Wimbledon this year.

The 32-year-old Bulgarian is adhering to a back-to-basics game plan devised by coaches Dani Vallverdu and Jamie Delgado. And he’s following the same daily routine at his team’s rented house in Wimbledon Village. That combination has kept Dimitrov focussed and calm amid the match scheduling chaos of week one brought on by frequent rain.

Here’s a typical day at the Dimitrov digs: Wake up at 7:30/8:00. Head to breakfast. Arrive at the club by 9:30/10:00. Practise. Play the match, head home to watch some of the other matches on TV.

“We go down to the cinema room, put the tennis on the big screen and everybody’s relaxing,” says Vallverdu. “Luckily this week we have a chef at home, so dinner is on the table at 7:30. Around 9:30 everyone’s in their own room. Every day looks the same. We’re trying to keep things as quiet and consistent as possible.”

Consistency – and clarity – has been even more important on the court. And it’s working!

Dimitrov has dropped more than three games in a set just twice in nine sets this week. On Sunday, he put the finishing touches on a 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 win over 10th-seeded American Frances Tiafoe in a match that resumed early in the third set after being postponed due to rain on Saturday evening.

When Vallverdu reunited with Dimitrov this season, player and coach agreed to get on the same page with the game plan: Take control of points with his serve and forehand and use more slice on the backhand. And most important: Stick to the plan in good times and bad.

“There’s been an agreement within the whole team on what the game style should be to win or to lose, regardless whether he’s playing better on that day or worse, or what the other guy is doing,” Vallverdu said.

“It’s just sticking to it every single day and there was an agreement six months ago on what the game plan is. Jamie Delgado and myself have stuck with it and have made sure that Grigor is buying into it.

“With the clarity of the game plan he is slowly finding the game that he was playing in the past. Over the past few years, maybe he wasn’t as clear on what his game plan should be, to not only win matches more easily, but actually to have a better chance to beat the top guys.”

Dimitrov, who has not won a title since lifting the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals trophy and finishing the year No. 3 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, faces a generational test Monday against 20-year-old sixth seed Holger Rune for a place in the quarter-finals.

Dani Vallverdu and Grigor Dimitrov at Queen’s last month.

While Vallverdu and Delgado may have some specific guidance for the first-time meeting, Vallverdu says not to expect the underlying game plan to change.

“Ninety per cent is reinforcing what he has to do on his side of the court. With other players it is different, but with Grigor most of it is about his game and sticking to the basics of his game,” he said.

“He has two clear strengths, which are his serve and his forehand, so he should be utilising that as much as possible. We’ve been working on service accuracy and first-serve efficiency quite a lot over the last few months and also recognising the shots when he should take charge of the rally with his forehand.

“Thirdly is the variety on the backhand side. Using his slice gives him the variety that you don’t see so much these days and can make guys feel uncomfortable. If he focuses on those three things, then I think the game plan is pretty simple.”

At 32, Dimitrov is committed to doing whatever it takes to get the most out of his prodigious talent and hopefully an elusive Grand Slam trophy. That’s why he’s trusting the process, and trusting Vallverdu.

“I have always wanted to give my best every single time, but I felt I was at a point in my career where I really wanted to do something bigger,” Dimitrov said.

“Putting the whole team all together was very exciting to me. With Jamie, with Dani and everyone else helping in the best possible way, I think it’s the right fit and it’s very good and comfortable for the whole team.

“Even when I was navigating through the period without Dani we always kept in contact, we’re also close friends… So we kind of picked it up where we left off, so in a way it was a very smooth transition for all of us.”

Did You Know?
Dani Vallverdu is the coach representative on the ATP Player Advisory Council.

Jamie Murray and Michael Venus’ grass-court resurgence continued Sunday at Wimbledon, where the 13th-seeded pair rallied to a 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 6-3 second-round triumph against Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler.

The British-Kiwi duo arrived at Wimbledon with an 0-2 record on grass this year but battled to a second consecutive three-set triumph at SW19 by saving both break points they faced against Erler and Miedler. Murray and Venus, who have lifted three ATP 250 titles together since first teaming at the start of 2023, will take on fourth seeds Hugo Nys/Jan Zielinski or Alejandro Davidovich Fokina/Adrian Mannarino next in London.

Their fellow seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos also advanced to the last 16. The Spanish-Argentine duo, which reached the Wimbledon championship match in 2021, ended the run of French #NextGenATP stars Arthur Fils and Luca Van Assche.

Fils and Van Assche had earlier completed a 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-2 first-round win against Petros Tsitsipas and Stefanos Tsitsipas, in a match that had been suspended due to bad light on Friday evening at the All England Club. They were unable to overcome the experience of Granollers and Zeballos upon returning to court, however, as the 15th seeds prevailed 7-6(1), 6-7(6), 6-4.

Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow managed to complete a Sunday upset at Wimbledon. The American pair took down seventh seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer 6-3, 7-6(5) to book their third-round spot. Also victorious on Sunday in south-west London were Roland Garros finalists Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen, who beat Laslo Djere and Christopher O’Connell in a first-round encounter.