Christopher Eubanks’ fairytale Wimbledon came to an end as Daniil Medvedev won the Battle of the Beanpoles to reach the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time.
Eubanks, bidding to become only the third Wimbledon debutant to make the men’s semifinals in the Open era, led 2-1 but went down in five sets under the closed roof on No 1 Court.
He caused the No 3 seed some serious problems, passing 100 aces for the championships, but Medvedev’s durability and consistency ultimately saw him through. The metronome made just 13 unforced errors in triumphing 6-4, 1-6, 4-6, 7-6, 6-1.
When the disappointment fades Eubanks’ can reflect on a magnificent breakthrough Grand Slam. He will move into the world’s top 40 after a run which lit up the championships and is likely to be seeded at the US Open on the back of it.
Medvedev, standing so deep to receive he was almost next to the line judges, cashed in on two double faults in Eubanks’ second service game to strike the first blow against the unseeded American.
The France-based Russian closed the set out emphatically with two aces having made just one unforced error. Medvedev’s levels dropped in the fourth game of the second set as Eubanks, after asking the crowd to turn up the volume at 0-40, broke him.
Medvedev asked for some love of his own after a superb running backhand but the support for Eubanks was altogether louder and the noise was deafening when the American’s powerful ground attack – plus a lucky net cord – brought a second break.
Medvedev needed an instant response but Eubanks twice saved break points with aces in his opening service game in the fourth set. Fighting hard and dropping only one point on his serve all set to take it to a tie-break, Medvedev nailed it 7-4 when Eubanks netted a volley to stay alive.
The tide had turned. A double fault gifted Medvedev a soft break to love in the opening game of the fifth set and then some more wild ground strokes from Eubanks saw him broken again. When the Russian saved two break points to go 4-0 up, there was no way back for the fading Eubanks. Medvedev wrapped the match up in 2 hours and 57 minutes.
He will face the winner of the Carlos Alcaraz versus Holger Rune clash in the semifinal on Friday.
