Christopher Eubanks held his nerve to reach the last eight and Mirra Andreeva imploded.
First time
Christopher Eubanks reached the last eight at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time with a super plucky victory against fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas. The 27-year-old American called his performance surreal. "A dream come true," he added. "Yeah, it's tough to really put into words." He won't have to say too much to his bank manager who'll be seeing a chunky cheque for around 340,000 euros should he go down to third seed Daniil Medvedev on Day 10. Actually, Eubanks has nothing to lose. He can go into the encounter swinging against the Russian who will have all the pressure.
Reality check
Rather measured the response of Daniil Medvedev. He said he would be in for a tough battle against Christopher Eubanks in their quarter-final on Day 10. "I know that I'm playing someone very dangerous in the quarter-finals who is on the rise right now," remarked the Russian. "I kind of don't care if in three months he's going to play even better or even worse. What matters is two days after for me. I hope he's not going to be on absolute fire. Or if he is, I hope I'm going to be, too." Very now.
Sixteen pack
So farewell then Mirra Andreeva. Just a few days after describing herself as a normal teenager, the 16-year-old threw a tantrum typical of the genre at the end of her match against Madison Keys by refusing to shake the hands of the umpire who she thought had treated her unfairly by docking her a point for throwing her racquet. Andreeva claimed she had slipped and the racquet flew out of her hand. "She didn't do a right decision for me," Andreeva fumed. "Yes, that's why I didn't want to shake hands to her." Best not to argue.
Ons love
After advancing to the last eight with a comprehensive victory over two-time champion Petra Kvitova, Ons Jabeur was questioned on why so many people love her at Wimbledon. "I have good karma maybe," replied the 28-year-old Tunisian. "I think I try to be me. I don't try to do anything that is not me. I try to smile all the time because I believe this sport is very cruel in certain times. I don't think you should always be like in the zone, not laugh, just keep smiling." Seems grounded enough. In the last eight, Jabeur will take on Elena Rybakina – the player who beat her in last year's final. Jabeur says she will be ready for the challenge. "Sometimes playing someone like Elena, who serves really well, it can be frustrating. I would get angry but I'll try to accept the fact that she serves so good and try to return good and see what I can do there." Zen stuff with the karma could be a potent mix.
So it had to happen. Laboured pop culture reference and poor humour. Maybe the review needs a break in Club Tropicana. But it's not coming yet. Because the review wants to stick around at Wimbledon for the clash of the young guns Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune. They have known each other since they were 12 – eight years – and now they're going to face off in the last eight on the grass in south-west London. Woof. "To be able to play a quarter-final against a player that is your same age, at the top of the ranking, feels amazing," said Rune who dispatched the old man Grigor Dimitrov in four sets to reach the last eight. "I'm really looking forward to the match." said the top seed Alcaraz who also needed four sets to topple the former finalist Matteo Berrettini. "We shared a lot of great moments," Alcaraz added. "Yeah, I'm really excited about it." All very upbeat and joyous. They hardly seem like bad boys.
