MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Christopher Eubanks clapped his hands and pumped his fist to the crowd as he walked off the court for the final time at the 2023 Miami Open. The 26-year-old’s Cinderella run was over after making it from the qualifying draw all the way to the quarterfinals, at center court inside Hard Rock Stadium, and he couldn’t stay down for too long even after his 6-4, 7-5 loss to Daniil Medvedev.
When he got to Miami Gardens last week, Eubanks was perhaps best known to college tennis fans, who maybe remembered him as a two-time All-American at Georgia Tech. As a professional, he had done little of note — a couple of wins at Grand Slam tournaments, a handful of titles on the ATP Challenger Tour — and wasn’t even guaranteed a spot in the Miami Open’s main draw until he won a pair of matches in qualifying.
A week later, he’s set to crack the top 100 of the Association of Tennis Professionals rankings for the first time, almost $200,000 richer and the latest 20-something American to make a run at star status.
