Wimbledon: Eubanks knocks out local hero Norrie, moves into first Grand Slam third round

This week is undoubtedly the pinnacle of Chris Eubank’s career so far.

The American, now aged 27, moved into his first third round of a Grand Slam tournament at Wimbledon by edging out No 12 seed Cameron Norrie 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (3) at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London on Friday afternoon.

Eubanks, ranked No 43, will face Australian Christopher O’Connell next, and has a decent chance of entering the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time. In the previous round of The Championships, the American defeated Brazilian Thiago Monteiro (4-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-3), but he called this second round win as the greatest victory of his career.

“No question, by far,” Eubanks said, when asked if this week was the high point of his career. “Considering the moment, considering the stage, who I was playing, where I played him. By far the biggest win of my career, yes.”

Eubanks will reach the top 40 of the ATP rankings after Wimbledon, having started the season ranked No 123, and sitting back at No 215 this time last year.

Norrie on Eubanks: “Unbelievable”

“Credit to Chris on that one,” British No 1 and 2022 Wimbledon semi-finalist Norrie reacted after the match.

“He played unbelievable. Served well. Came out, was hitting the ball huge. Didn’t miss at all. I got outplayed. His level at the moment and his confidence is unbelievable. He completely took the racquet out of my hand today. I did what I could, but it wasn’t enough.”

Eubanks won his first ATP title last week in Majorque.

“The level of confidence is pretty high,” Eubanks confirmed. “I mean, I’ve been playing well on the grass so far. Serving well, especially. If I’m serving well, I think that typically bodes well for my confidence. After the first couple games, I think my second service game I had four aces. At that point I was like, okay, I’m feeling good today.”

“I fought as hard as I could, came up against someone who was really confident,” Norrie added. “Eubanks played great. So he definitely deserved to win the match. I told him that. Everything went his way today, and he deserved it.”

“Not quite working out for me right now” – Norrie on his dip in form

When asked if the British crowed played a role during the match, Norrie answered:

“There was not a lot happening in the match. It was absolute rockets from him and winners from him, unforced errors from him, everything up to him. It was tough for the crowd to get into the match.

“They were great. They responded well to me in the second set when I was up a break. He hit a few balls out, which is exactly what I needed. I felt it was a great atmosphere on that Court 1 today. It was a lot of fun playing out there again in Wimbledon.”

Norrie, ranked No 13, edged out qualifier Tomas Machac (6-3, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4) in the previous round of The Championships. He only won five matches in Grand Slams this year, losing at the Round of 32 in Melbourne (Lehecka) and Roland-Garros (Musetti).

“It’s not quite working out for me right now,” the Brit confessed. “I’m preparing as well as I can, leaving no stone unturned with my team, my preparation and everything. More than anything I’m disappointed. I want to play well in slams. I think there’s no reason why not. I’m tougher to beat over five sets.

“But, yeah, I just need to keep improving.”

Wimbledon (Grand Slam), other second-round results (All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, grass, GBP 16.077.000, most recent results first):

• Andy Murray vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas: Friday
• Nicolas Jarry (25) beat Jason Kubler: 7-5, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
• Carlos Alcaraz (1) beat Alexandre Muller: 6-4, 7-6 (2), 6-3
• Alexander Zverev (19) beat Yosuke Watanuki (LL): 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 6-2
• Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (31) beat Botic van de Zandschulp: 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
• Marton Fucsovics beat Marcos Giron: 7-6 (2), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
• Daniil Medvedev (3) beat Adrian Mannarino: 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (5)
• Matteo Berrettini beat Alex De Minaur (15): 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
• Christopher O’Connell beat Jiri Vesely: 6-3, 7-5, 6-4
• Holger Rune (6) beat Roberto Carballes Baena: 6-3, 7-6 (3), 6-4
• Grigor Dimitrov (21) beat Ilya Ivashka: 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
• Laslo Djere beat Ben Shelton (32): 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3
• Frances Tiafoe (10) beat Dominic Stricker (Q): 7-6 (11), 6-4, 6-2
• Mikael Ymer beat Taylor Fritz (9): 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
• Guido Pella beat Harold Mayot (Q): 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3), 7-5
• Jiri Lehecka beat Francisco Cerundolo (18): 6-2, 6-2, 6-2
• David Goffin (WC) beat Tomas Barrios Vera (Q): 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-2, 6-0
• Roman Safiullin beat Corentin Moutet: 7-5, 6-3, 7-6 (4)
• Tommy Paul (16) beat Milos Raonic: 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (4), 6-4
• Daniel Elahi Galan beat Oscar Otte (Q): 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3)
• Liam Broady (WC) beat Casper Ruud (4): 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0
• Andrey Rublev (7) beat Aslan Karatsev: 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-4, 7-5
• Denis Shapovalov (26) beat Gregoire Barrere: 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7)
• Stan Wawrinka beat Tomas Martin Etcheverry (29): 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
• Maximilian Marterer beat Michael Mmoh (LL): 7-5, 7-6 (5), 6-4
• Alexander Bublik (23) beat J.J. Wolf: 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-0
• Hubert Hurkacz (17) beat Jan Choinski (WC): 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (3)
• Lorenzo Musetti (14) beat Jaume Munar: 6-4, 6-3, 6-1
• Quentin Halys beat Aleksandar Vukic: 6-3, 6-1, 6-4
• Jannik Sinner (8) beat Diego Schwartzman: 7-5, 6-1, 6-2
• Novak Djokovic (2) beat Jordan Thompson: 6-3, 7-6 (4), 7-5