Eubanks edges Tsitsipas to reach quarters in Wimbledon thriller
Stefanos Tsitsipas crashed out of Wimbledon at the hands of unseeded American Christopher Eubanks after a thrilling five-set battle on Monday.
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Eubanks lost the first set to the Greek fifth seed and then trailed two sets to one but he powered back to win 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
It is another crushing disappointment at the All England Club for Tsitsipas, who has never been beyond the fourth round.
Tsitspas started strongly, breaking his 43rd-ranked opponent twice in the first set but he was edged out in the second-set tie-break.
Two more breaks in the third set put the Australian Open finalist back in control but Eubanks broke in the ninth game of the fourth set to level.
The American unleashed a searing single-handed backhand down to the line to break Tsitsipas in the first game of the decider.
Tsitsipas returned the favour in the sixth game to level things up but Eubanks produced another moment of magic on the backhand to break again, cupping his ears to the crowd.
Eubanks held his nerve when he served for the match, saving two break points before producing a devastating forehand to seal the deal.
He soaked up the atmosphere of an enthusiastic crowd, making a heart gesture towards them with his hands.
"It's like I'm living the dream right now," he said. "This is absolutely insane."
The American described grass as the "stupidest" surface to play on last month.
But he has since won the Mallorca tournament on the surface before hitting form at Wimbledon.
"Those words will never come out of my mouth for the rest of my career," he said in reference to his comments.
"The grass and I, we've had a very strenuous relationship over the years but right now I think it's my best friend."
Before arriving at the All England Club, the 27-year-old American's record at the Slams had been modest.
Of his eight main draw appearances he had lost in the first round six times. He had tried and failed four times to qualify for Wimbledon.
DJOKOVIC INTO 14TH WIMBLEDON QUARTERFINAL
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Novak Djokovic breached the previously impregnable defences of Hubert Hurkacz to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the 14th time on Monday.
Defending champion Djokovic, chasing a record-equalling eighth title and 24th Grand Slam, won 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (8/6), 5-7, 6-4.
In the fourth set, Djokovic broke for a crucial 4-3 lead, ending Hurkacz's perfect run of 67 service games at the tournament this year.
Victory in his 100th match at the tournament gave Djokovic a 90th win.
He is also on a 32-match win streak at the All England Club, while his 56th Grand Slam quarterfinal spot is second only to the 58 of Roger Federer.
"Big credit for Hubert for playing an amazing match, he put up a great performance," said 36-year-old Djokovic.
"Honestly I don't recall the last time I felt this miserable on returning games. He has one of the best serves in the world and it's difficult to read it on one of the quickest surfaces in the sport. It was not enjoyable for me."
Djokovic will face Andrey Rublev for a place in the semifinals.
That match will take place on Centre Court, where Djokovic has not lost since 2013.
"I feel a great connection with this court. Every match that I win, every time I step on the court I feel more confident to play the match and hopefully the love affair continues for a long time," he said.
Djokovic had been two sets up overnight when the match was suspended due to a local curfew.
He had squandered five break points in those sets and Hurkacz eventually made him pay by breaking in the 12th game of the third set on Monday.
But Djokovic hit back to break for 4-3 in the fourth and from then on there was no way back for the 17th-seeded Pole despite his 33 aces and 64 winners.
Djokovic will take a 3-1 career lead over seventh-ranked Rublev into their quarterfinal on Tuesday.
Djokovic came out on top in straight sets at the same stage of this year's Australian Open.
"He's a different player to Hurkacz for sure," said the Serb.
"Very powerful, very quick ground strokes, loves to dictate. I'm not going to talk to much about tactics – I will to keep that to myself."
MEDVEDEV INTO FIRST WIMBLEDON QUARTERFINAL AFTER LEHECKA QUITS
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World No 3 Daniil Medvedev reached his first Wimbledon quarterfinal when Czech opponent Jiri Lehecka retired with an injury.
Medvedev was 6-4, 6-2 ahead when his 37th-ranked opponent, who had needed a medical timeout for a right foot injury, retired from their Court One clash.
Former US Open winner Medvedev will face either Stefanos Tsitsipas, the Greek world No 5, or unseeded Christopher Eubanks of the United States for a place in the semifinals.
"I saw that his movement was restricted but I didn't see that it was causing any real trouble," said Medvedev.
"But when I saw that he was retiring, I saw that it was different.
"I had no choice but to keep battling until the last point. I feel sorry for Jiri. Hopefully, he'll recover and play at many more Grand Slams."
RUNE DOWNS DIMITROV
Fearless Dane Holger Rune's stature in world tennis continued to grow on Monday as he stayed calm and collected in the face of adversity to ride out a 3-6 7-6(6) 7-6(4) 6-3 fourth round win over Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov at Wimbledon.
The Danish sixth seed missed out on converting any of the six break points he earned in the opening set, and then found himself a set and 4-2 down after surrendering his own serve with two successive double faults.
Through all that mental turmoil, he never lost belief and the 20-year-old came storming back with some phenomenal shot making as he became the first Dane in 65 years to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
It was little wonder he was left screaming into the skies and thumping his chest after the near 3-1/2 hour battle ended when Dimitrov's backhand floated into the tramlines on Rune's first match point.
He will next meet either fellow 20-year-old and world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz or big-hitting Italian Matteo Berrettini for a place in the semifinals.
ALCARAZ POWERS PAST BERRETTINI
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz roared into the Wimbledon quarterfinals with a formidable display of firepower to down big-serving Italian dark horse Matteo Berrettini on Monday.
The Spaniard was beaten to the punch in the opening set but raised his game to claim a comfortable 3-6 6-3 6-3 6-3 win to the delight of the Centre Court crowd.
He will now face a battle of the 20-year-old's against Denmark's sixth seed Holger Rune for a place in the semifinals.
Berrettini came out firing with his serve and forehand rocking Alcaraz but after an injury-plagued year he could not hope to maintain that intensity.
Alcaraz was relentless from then on, running former runner-up Berrettini ragged at times.
He broke serve in the third game of the second set on the way to levelling the match and did the same in the third set as he picked up speed.
A delay to close the roof midway through the fourth set as the light faded offered Berrettini some respite but Alcaraz quickly completed the win after the resumption.