By Martyn Herman
LONDON (Reuters) – Third seed Daniil Medvedev curtailed American debutant Christopher Eubanks’ extraordinary Wimbledon adventure as he weathered a ferocious storm to come through their quarter-final 6-4 1-6 4-6 7-6(4) 6-1 on Wednesday.
Medvedev took the opening set but was blown completely off course for the next two as unseeded Eubanks unleashed a barrage of first-strike tennis that stunned the Russian and had the Court One crowd roaring its approval.
Medvedev looked bewildered and out of ideas at one point as Eubanks kept swinging for the hills, landing blow after blow.
But the former U.S. Open champion began to douse the fire of his opponent’s game in a tight fourth set and his experience held sway in the tiebreak as he levelled the match.
Eubanks, bidding to emulate American great John McEnroe by reaching the semi-finals on his first appearance, cut a dejected figure in the deciding set as his dream faded away.
Despite the end of his incredible run, the 27-year-old former Georgia Tech student left the court to a huge ovation, making a heart gesture to the stands before disappearing.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ken Ferris)
