Chris Eubanks’ work ethic, entertaining games and fun personality will turn him into a superstar at this year’s US Open, according to former world No 4 James Blake.
The 27-year-old Eubanks has enjoyed a fairytale 2023 season as he started the year outside the top 120 in the ATP Rankings, but he enjoyed a breakthrough run at the Miami Open as he reached the quarter-final.
After a disappointing clay season and less than happy start to the grass campaign, things suddenly started to click for the American at the Mallorca Championships as he won his maiden title at the ATP 250 event in Spain.
And things took off after that as he went on a magical run at Wimbledon, first upsetting British No 1 Cameron Norrie in the second round and fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the round of 16.
By the time his journey was ended by Daniil Medvedev in five sets in the quarter-final, he had left his mark as he not only won fans over with his performances, but his personality as well.
He has risen to a career-high 29 on the back of those performances, but Blake believes there is more to come from Eubanks.
“I’ve always thought that being yourself on the court really endears you to fans. Whether that’s Pete Sampras, very inward and very focused and that’s it, or you’re having fun or Marat Safin who’s breaking rackets, Eubanks is genuinely like that and I think that shines through to the fans where he’s having fun out there and they see that. They want to have fun because he’s playing a game and they’re watching a game and they’re there to be entertained, and he’s just having a great time,” the two-time US Open quarter-finalist told Sky Sports.
“Don’t get me wrong, he’s got the work ethic, he’s doing everything he can, but he’s also having a good time while he’s doing it and I think that’s going to shine through and I think fans are going to really appreciate that and it’s a reason they’re going to gravitate to him even more.
“He’s going to be one of the stars at the US Open. He might be on the side of a bus, he might be up on billboards and for him a year ago to be playing Challengers in Korea and just toiling away, trying to get points to be in the top 100, to be a star in New York, and New York goes crazy for two weeks for the US Open. For him to be one of those stars is going to be hopefully a life-changing experience for him, in a positive way.”
Eubanks looks set to be seeded for the US Open and it would potentially give him an easier run at Flushing Meadows.
Last year he had to qualify for his home Grand Slam before losing in the second round against Jannik Sinner.
Blake added: “A lot times people go in one of two directions; they shy away from that and they don’t like it or they just embrace it and then it makes them kind of motivated [thinking] ‘this is fun, I could get used to this. Let me do this all the time and let me keep working my tail off so I can be on a billboard every year when I come back to the US Open.’ So, I hope it’s going to be fun for him. I hope he’s got that work ethic and I hope he enjoys being a superstar because that is what he is in the making.”
