American Christopher Eubanks wins 1st ATP tour title by beating Adrian Mannarino in Mallorca final
PALMA, Spain (AP) — Christopher Eubanks of the United States earned his first ATP tour title by beating Adrian Mannarino in straight sets in the final of the Mallorca Championships on Saturday and will rise to a career-high ranking of 43rd going into his first Wimbledon.
The 27-year-old Eubanks had to save five match points in his semifinal against Lloyd Harris on Friday but never even faced a break point against Mannarino, winning 6-1, 6-4 in his first career final.
“It just means the world, man,” said Eubanks, who will rise 34 spots in the rankings as a result of the win. “It means a lot of the hard work I’ve been putting in, the ups and downs throughout my career, it all is coming together now at this point in my career.”
Eubanks will face Thiago Monteiro of Brazil in the first round of Wimbledon on Tuesday in his debut at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament.
“To come into my first Wimbledon with my first ATP title is something that if you had told me when I showed up last Thursday that it would happen, I probably wouldn’t have believed you,” Eubanks said.
___
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
