Chris Eubanks’s surprise Wimbledon run lands him in quarterfinals

Inside, shouts in three languages careened around the stands — English, spoken by the supporters of Chris Eubanks who shouted “ice!” after each of the American’s many aces; and Russian and Greek, spoken by supporters of Stefanos Tsitsipas. Occasionally it was just English, when the two groups of supporters performed a call-and-response: “Let’s go, Chris!” then immediately, “Let’s go, Stef!” More often than you would expect at Wimbledon, there were cries of joy or anguish during a point, egad. Coco Gauff was shouting and clapping her encouragement from the stands.

On the court in the middle of it all were Tsitsipas and Eubanks, the former stalking the baseline and jutting his chin with determination, the latter smiling and fist-pumping after every advantage gained, even if it was his opponent’s fault on a first serve.

Eubanks was taking anything he could get. Then he took the match, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.

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With it, the former Georgia Tech standout upset the two-time Grand Slam finalist to nudge an already unforgettable Wimbledon debut toward something like fantasy.

“I feel like I’m living in a dream right now,” Eubanks said. “This is absolutely insane when you paint all of the context.”

The context: Eubanks, a ­27-year-old from Atlanta, arrived at the All England Club to play in his first main draw at Wimbledon six years into his pro career with a win-loss record of 21-33 in eight Grand Slam appearances, having never made it past the second round. He had a career-high ranking of 43, achieved after winning the first title of his career on grass in Mallorca, Spain, last month. He lived for so long in the 200 levels of the rankings that in 2022 he took up — and plans to continue — a commentating gig with Tennis Channel as a fallback, meaning his post-match interview on the court lasted longer than most and produced ripples of laughter from the crowd.

“The grass and I, we’ve had a very, let’s say, strenuous relationship over the years,” Eubanks said, referring to his previously professed hatred for the playing surface. “But right now it’s my best friend.”

Clearly, context is not always predictive.

The unexpected success from his past week here has left Eubanks feeling somewhat dazed and has also required considerable time spent pushing back his hotel checkout date again and again. He upset world No. 13 Cameron Norrie in the second round, and Monday’s win…