American Chris Eubanks finally ran out of road to bring an end to a magical run on a grass surface he hated when he arrived before it became his favourite piece of tennis turf.
All the heavy serving the 6′7′' American could muster wasn’t enough against Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in a long five-setter than petered to an end, Medvedev winning the fifth 6-1 as the world number 43 closed what was for him an otherworldly Wimbledon.
What was shaping up to being one of the sports stories of the year in his first time playing the tournament – having failed to qualify in previous years – a run to the quarter-final and defeated by the world number three will, after the crushing disappointment of losing, rank as an excellent few weeks’ work.
The Russian, who won the US Open in 2021, has the pleasure of Carlos Alcaraz on Centre Court on Friday to see who faces Novak Djokovic or Jannik Sinner, who contest the other semi-final.
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[ Wimbledon: Christopher Eubanks still punching above his weightOpens in new window ]
Although Eubanks lost the first set 6-4, he rebounded with an arresting second set, winning 6-1 to draw level. He then won the first two games of the third set and held off the higher ranked player for 6-4 and two sets to one. Medvedev then won a tight tiebreaker in the fourth, where the match might have been decided. Sensing Eubanks had maybe reached his limit the Russian sped to a 6-1 fifth set and the match.
He is just the third black American man to reach the quarter-finals at Wimbledon since the start of the Open era in 1968.
The fresh face of Denmark’s Holger Rune on Centre Court did not slow down the march of Spain’s Alcaraz. Both players 20 years old, Rune was ranked six against the world number one. Occasional doubles partners, Rune began brightly, taking the first set to a tiebreak, which Alcarez turned his was 7-3. Throwing 130mph serves at the Spaniard might have troubled other players but Alcaraz has grown in each round.
Taking the second set 6-4, he then broke Rune’s serve in the third and set himself up to serve for the match, swiftly moving to 40-0 for his second match point. Finally, he had to reach to the third and fourth match points before wrapping up with an unreturned serve in 2 hours and 22 minutes. It is Alcaraz’s first Wimbledon semi-final.
“It’s amazing for me,” he said after the match. “It’s a dream since I first started playing tennis. For me it is a dream to play a semi-final here. I’m playing such a great level on this surface. You know for me it is crazy.”
The fact of the Dane being a friend and sometimes doubles partner was not a hindering factor for the Spaniard.
“At the beginning I was really nervous,” said Alcaraz. “Once you get on to the court there is not friends. You have to be focused on yourself.”
Now that focus will turn towards the world number three.
