Wild cards and debutants make Wimbledon fun

As the favourites keep winning their games, the joy is coming from players creating new memories with some throwback tennis

- Deepti Patwardhan

Like a relic from the past, Christopher Eubanks rushed to the net after carving out a low backhand slice. The first backhand volley unsettled his opponent, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and the second mopped up the point.

Eubanks, who has just set up a triple break point at 3-3 in the deciding set, flapped and raised his arms to urge an already enthralled crowd. He converted on the third break point, with a ripping single-handed backhand down the line to take a decisive lead.

The 6'7" American was loving it; the attention, the occasion. He won his next two service games and notched a 3-6, 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over the fifth seed with a forehand winner. The Wimbledon debutant was now in the quarter-finals. 'Big Banks' had hit big-time. "I just think the entire experience altogether has just been a whirlwind," he said in the post-match press conference on Monday. "It's been something that you dream about. But I think for me I didn't really know if that dream would actually come true. I'm sitting here now, so it's pretty cool."

The American has been the story of the tournament so far at Wimbledon 2023. A 27-year-old who broke into the top-100 for the very first time this year, Eubanks has hit his stride this grass season. Having won the Mallorca Championships in the week leading up to Wimbledon, he is now on a nine-match winning streak on a surface with which he's had a "strenuous relationship".

Daniil Medvedev, Eubank's next opponent, credited Eubanks's rise to him playing "total tennis". "He is not scared of anything. He just goes for it," the Russian World No. 3 said earlier in the week. "[He] hits very, very fast and goes to the net as soon as he has the opportunity, has a big serve." On Monday, Eubanks dashed to the net 72 times a sight uncommon in tennis these days, and at Wimbledon now-and won 46 of those points.