ATLANTA — Christopher Eubanks has played the Atlanta Open seven times in his career, and particularly as an Atlanta native it's probably a bit old hat for him by now.
Except this time around, the 27-year-old is headed to Atlantic Station in the midst of the best stretch - by far - of his career.
Eubanks spoke to reporters Friday ahead of the tournament kicking off on Saturday, speaking about his newfound level of fame fresh off a Cinderella run at Wimbledon that saw him gain international attention as he reached the quarterfinals and put a five-set scare into Daniil Medvedev to almost reach the semis.
Eubanks, who scored his first ATP tournament win in Mallorca, Spain, just ahead of Wimbledon, said with those back-to-back performances he's now coming into the Atlanta Open from a completely new perspective.
"Looking at myself a little differently," he said. "I think I look at myself as, when I'm going into Grand Slams now, I think maybe I'm expecting a little bit more of myself, or I know what my capabilities are, what I can do. So I think it just kinda changes my outlook, going into even tournaments like this.. before Mallorca, I probably wouldn't enter an (ATP 250-level tournament) really feeling like I could win it. But now I've shown myself I can."
Eubanks said he was gone for about three months in Europe during the grasscourt season, and said he's adjusting to being back home in Atlanta.
"ATP title and grand slam quarterfinal wasn't really on my checklist when I left," he joked. "It's been fun, trying to get acclimated again, taking a few days, but now settling into routines again. Ready to treat this like another tournament and keep my best foot forward."
He said friends who went to London to cheer him on at Wimbledon told him about the attention he was getting back home - and that he didn't believe them at first. But back home now, he said he's noticing a new attention.
"Going to some of my favorite restaurants, places I always go, people come up and made it a point to say congratulations, it was fun watching your run at Wimbledon," Eubanks said. "I'm like man, you guys really - Atlanta really - they paid attention, they really enjoyed following it. It makes it I think now mean even more to me, that it wasn't just the tennis community in Atlanta, it was Atlanta as a whole."
Eubanks was initially slated for the Atlanta Open's qualifying phase, which is what the tournament will start off with on Saturday. But after his run at Wimbledon they placed him in the main draw - signaling his arrival as a hometown hero and a headline act for this tournament.
“We’re thrilled to be able to add Chris Eubanks to the main singles draw from qualifying at the Atlanta Open,” Peter Lebedevs, Atlanta Open tournament director, said in a statement. “He’s playing the best tennis of his career and we are excited to watch him compete in his hometown. Chris adds another talented name to our fantastic main draw.”