Federer, Djokovic, Nadal – none of them managed a feat that’s just been achieved by a player few people had heard of before this fortnight.
In the women’s draw, last year’s beaten finalist, Tunisian Ons Jabeur, will face Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, the world number two and a former winner of the Australian Open.
The other semifinal features two unlikely contenders: Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, who only recently returned to tennis after having her first child, and Czech Marketa Vondrousova, the world number 42, who was once runner-up at Roland Garros but had never made it past Wimbledon’s second round before this tournament.
Those two matches will happen on Centre Court tomorrow (Thursday, UK time).
On the men’s side, world number one and reigning US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz, from Spain, will play Russian Daniil Medvedev, a former winner at Flushing Meadows.
Meanwhile seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, will face 21-year-old Italian Jannik Sinner.
Fairytale run falls agonisingly short
With no locals left in the singles, American Christopher Eubanks had been adopted as the British crowd’s favourite. He and Medvedev delivered the most compelling contest of the day, a five-set nerve-shredder.
Eubanks, 27, was playing in Wimbledon’s main draw for the first time, and making just his ninth grand slam appearance since debuting at the US Open in 2017. He’s actually best known for his work off court as a presenter on the Tennis Channel.
Yet his impressive route to the quarterfinals had included a stunning five-set win over the Greek fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
His performance today sealed a startling acheivement, one the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic never managed: he broke the record for most winners hit in a Wimbledon tournament, with 321.
To put it in context, that record had stood since Andre Agassi hit 317 all the way back in 1992, when the man writing this sentence was a year old.
So, an impressive display then. And the cauldron of Court 1, with its roof closed and crowd suitably tipsy, was ideal for him.
This arena is the closest Wimbledon ever comes to resembling the Australian Open. Compared to Centre Court, with its cool breeze, and visiting royals (last week, Princess Catherine, today Queen Camilla), and other assorted bigwigs, Court 1 can feel more like Rod Laver Arena.
It’s louder, and rowdier, and stuffier than the typical Wimbledon experience. Today the air was still and stifling. Perfect for building pressure on a player who’s expected to win.
Daniil Medvedev (aka the player who was expected to win). Picture: Glyn Kirk/AFP
Eubanks reacts to a lost point. Picture: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
In this match, that player was indisputably Medvedev, one of the few players to have beaten Djokovic in a major final.
Eubanks added to the weirdly Australian vibe with his resemblance to another talented, flashy, lanky, charismatic player. He’s Nick Kyrgios without the snarl, two metres tall, with that easy, languid way of moving about the court that makes tennis seem far less strenuous than it is.
Granted, there’s less anger. Where many players would smash a racquet on the ground, Eubanks merely throws it up in the air and catches it with a wry smile, or twirls it for the crowd’s amusement.
That’s the key though: the crowd is entertained, always. He and Kyrgios don’t share a temper; they do have the same knack for connecting with the masses.
Contrast that with Medvedev, whose personality often comes alive in interviews but is repressed, on court, beneath a dour, mechanical focus.
Naturally there was almost universal support for the showman, Eubanks, over the metronomic Russian. (Save for one lone, irrepressible woman a few rows in front of me. Set up a stall and sell two products: pizza and brussels sprouts. One customer among every 12,000 will pick the vegetables. That is, roughly, the capacity of Court 1, and Medvedev is roughly the tennis equivalent of brussels sprouts.)
Anyway, the sporadic shouts of “Christophaaaaaa” from various Australians in the stands, again, added to the Melbournesque atmosphere.
The match proceeded broadly as expected, at first. Medvedev claimed the opening set 6-4, which kept the partisan crowd somewhat in check. But it started to bay shortly afterwards, as Eubanks rode a wave of excellent serving and volleying, combined with errors from his opponent, to claim the next two sets 6-1 and 6-4.
Eubanks flashing a love heart to the crowd on his way off court. Picture: Glyn Kirk/AFP
A small moment in the tense, pivotal fourth set illustrated his charm. After a bad missed volley, instead of raging or remonstrating, Eubanks merely stood with his hands on his hips and looked to the nearest stand with his tongue out. A bemused, and theatrical, but even-tempered gesture. The fans reacted with a standing ovation of encouragement.
Neither player could force their way pastthe other’s serve throughout the set – Medvedev in particular was practically unbreakable, landing more than 80 per cent of his first serves in.
His hot streak finally ended on point four of the tiebreak. But as the faults finally started to flow from Medvedev’s racquet, Eubanks’ nerve cracked, and a series of errors sent the match into a deciding set.
He came out for the fifth set visibly down and was promptly broken to love, then broken again. A contingent of disappointed fans filed out. Not too many, just 10 per cent or so, but if you could imagine Court 1 as a humungous balloon, just enough air had escaped to make the final deflation inevitable.
Eubanks’ unlikely run at Wimbledon had been one of just two to truly set the tournament alight – we’ll come to the other momentarily. It ended sadly, with his confidence low. But the crowd’s adoration remained at the end, as he left the court by flashing a love heart.
For long stretches, another colossal upset had looked possible. But tennis tends to favour the grinders, doesn’t it? Not the flashy, charismatic players, but the ones who toil quietly and a touch robotically up the other end, slowly grinding their opponents down, sapping their self-belief. Djokovic is one of those guys. So is Medvedev. And when the fourth set’s tiebreak went against him, you could see that Eubanks’ belief had vanished.
No doubt it will return.
“I definitely believe a lot more in my ability to contend with some of the best players in the world,” he said afterwards, reflecting on the match.
Result reversed in dramatic final rematch
On Centre Court, Svitolina had no such trouble yesterday, withstanding a comeback from world number one Iga Swiatek to win in three sets. You can read more about her incredible run (yes, the second one I mentioned) here. Having vanquished a procession of former grand slam champions, she suddenly occupies the weaker side of the draw.
Today the other side featured a rematch of last year’s women’s final. A year ago, Kazakh Elena Rybakina beat Jabeur in three sets, coming back after losing the first. This time the reverse happened, with Jabeur winning 6-7 6-4 6-1. She later joked to the crowd that she wished she could swap the two results.
“I believe, last year maybe I wasn’t ready to play this kind of match,” Jabeur told reporters at her press conference.
“I don’t regret last year. I happened for a reason. I always say it: it was meant to be this year. It was meant to be in the quarterfinals.
“I have learned a lot from the final last year. Definitely very proud of myself for the improvement that I did mentally, physically, and with the racquet.”
Jabeur celebrates her win. Picture: Sebastian Bozon/AFP
Wednesday’s two other singles matches were far more routine.
In the men’s draw, Alcaraz defeated world number six Holger Rune, from Denmark, in straight sets, 7-6 6-4 6-4.
And in the women’s, Sabalenka took less than 90 minutes to take care of American Madison Keys, 6-2 6-4.
This time tomorrow, we’ll know who has made the women’s final.
