Aug. 17, 2017
THE FLATS – Continuing his impressive year, Georgia Tech men’s tennis rising senior Christopher Eubanks earned a wild card into the men’s main draw of the 2017 U.S. Open on Tuesday, becoming the first Yellow Jacket to participate in the main draw while still enrolled at the Institute.
“I’m so extremely thankful to the USTA for the opportunity to compete in the greatest tournament in the world,” Eubanks said. “This is a tournament that I grew up dreaming about playing in and to think that I’ll actually be able to play in it is a dream come true. The hard work that I’ve been putting in this summer is truly paying off and all I can say is I am extremely blessed to be awarded this opportunity. I can’t wait to get there and live out my childhood dream on the greatest stage in the world and see what can happen.”
The 21-year-old joins eight players who received wild cards into the main draw, just a year removed from being awarded a wild card entry into the 2016 U.S. Open Qualifying Tournament.
Eubanks continues making strides on the big circuits, most recently making it to the round of 64 in the Cincinnati Masters after downing top-200 opponent Bjorn Fratangelo and No. 69 Janko Tipsarevic. The Atlanta native’s summer began in his hometown when he made waves during the BB&T Atlanta Open. En route to his first two career ATP victories, Eubanks downed fellow U.S. Open wild card entry Taylor Fritz in the first round before knocking off No. 59 Jared Donaldson to make it to the quarterfinals.
The two-time all-American also received a wildcard entry into the Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open this year, eventually falling to the top-seeded qualifier in India’s Ramkumar Ramanathan.
Also coming off an impressive year with the Yellow Jackets, the two-time all-American capped the campaign by earning ACC Player of the Year honors for the second-straight season, finishing with a 31-6 overall record and 18-2 mark in dual match action. During the season, Eubanks recorded 18 wins over ranked opponents, including then-No. 2 Petros Chrysochos of Wake Forest.
“It’s an incredible honor for Chris to receive a wild card at the U.S. Open,” head men’s tennis coach Kenny Thorne said. “Every tennis player has grown up watching incredible matches at the U.S. Open that sometimes go all night long. To have an opportunity as a college player to compete there is an absolute honor and a testament to his accomplishments this summer.”
Thorne continued, “We are all proud of the way Chris has represented Georgia Tech and he will have quite a few Georgia Tech fans cheering either in the stands or from afar. The USTA has done a great job of giving Chris opportunities to develop his game and we are very thankful.”
The 2017 U.S. Open runs from Monday, Aug. 28, to Sunday, Sept. 10.
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