Much has changed for Christopher Eubanks since he played his hometown event 12 months ago.
This time last year the former Georgia Tech standout attracted little attention as he raced from the Indianapolis Challenger to take his place in the qualifying draw, where he lost in the first round to Briton Jack Draper in a tight three setter.
Fast forward to 2023 and Eubanks returns to the Atlanta Open as the headline act after his fairytale run to the Wimbledon quarter-finals that moved him more than 100 places higher to No. 32 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.
“I remember that match against Jack because I got in the really, really late from Indianapolis and the whole day was just kind of a blur,” Eubanks said.
Far from the anonymity of the qualifying rounds, Eubanks on Tuesday leads off a marquee night session that also features countryman Ben Shelton, who made his pro debut at Atlantic Station last year. Eubanks will face 22-year-old American Andres Martin. (Interestingly, the former Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets followed through on an earlier plan to practise together at the weekend before the draw was made.)
Eubanks said that he was excited for the opportunity to play in front of home fans with his new-found profile.
“My entire life of tennis has kind of been centered around the city of Atlanta,” he said. “From the very first time I picked up a ball to my first junior tournament to the very first match I played in college. So there’s a lot of a lot of memories there.
“It’s always exciting playing in Atlanta, because I’ve always played well. I’ve had some of my best moments here as a professional and as a college player, even in juniors. I think the conditions suit my game well, so I’m just excited to get out there and play tomorrow.”
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Eubanks returned to Atlanta immediately after his quarter-final loss to Daniil Medvedev at Wimbledon. He took four days off before heading back to the gym. He resumed practising last Wednesday. One thing Eubanks feels has been lost in the Wimbledon hype was his first ATP Tour title in Mallorca in the week before the major.
“After a few days of rest I was very eager to jump back into my routine and all of the things that I felt like contributed to my success, like being in the gym, taking care of the body,” he said. “So I just kind of tried my best to just dive back into that and use that as my primary focus and not so much the other stuff.
“It’s hard to say if the run has been life-changing, but I definitely think it’s been career-changing. Wimbledon definitely elevated me but Mallorca did a good job of doing that as well. So I think it’s a combination of the two. I think Mallorca kind of gets overlooked a little bit, obviously, because of the glitz and glam of Wimbledon. But I think Mallorca started me off on a good foot, and Wimbledon just allowed me to just carry on that momentum.”