MUBADALA CITI DC OPEN

August 2, 2023

Christopher Eubanks

Press Conference

C. EUBANKS/S. Shimabukuro

6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How was it playing in front of this crowd here in D.C.? It was a packed stadium today. They are clearly behind you.

CHRISTOPHER EUBANKS: No, I have always gotten a lot of love here in D.C. The crowds have really always, from the first time I came back in maybe 2019, maybe 2018 maybe, can't remember, they have always really, really gotten behind me. D.C. has always been a city that feels kind of like home. For some reason, I have always felt very, very at home here. I don't know if it's the heat and humidity or what it is, but I have always felt really, really good here. May not have always played my best, but I've always felt pretty at home here.

The crowds I think contribute to that, so I really appreciate their energy today. It's really fun to be able to play in front of a crowd like that.

Q. Just a little bit more on the atmosphere. The court you played on, the Grandstand, it's going to be used to less and less over the next few days as the draw narrows, but it's developed a good reputation this week. Curious what you saw or felt on that court, that little intimate setting, if you will.

CHRISTOPHER EUBANKS: Yeah, I mean, I got a chance obviously to play doubles on there against Frances, so there was obviously a lot of energy there for that one. There was a lot of energy for mine. I think Frances is out there now playing doubles. Seems to be a lot of energy out there.

In terms of the court in particular, a lot of times I just kind of look at maybe the lines, the opponent, and like two rows up. That's kind of where my vision goes. You don't really feel how, I would say, involved the crowd really is unless there is a really big point.

There were some times today where I hit really good shots, you could hear it get kind of loud, that's when I think, as a player, at least me, I kind of take a step back and go, Man, it's really energetic in here.

But for the most part, I'm not really looking up and taking it all in. I'm trying to stay as focused as possible. But there were times today and there were certainly times in the doubles match where you could feel the energy on that court. I hope it continues for as long as we are going to be using it.

Q. You're now 12-2 dating back to the beginning of your title run in Mallorca. The consistency to do it across multiple surfaces, what's been the biggest factor in that?

CHRISTOPHER EUBANKS: Serving well, probably the biggest thing for me. It's always been, I think, kind of a barometer of where my game is. If I'm serving well, I think I can really cause a lot of guys problems. Especially during the summer hard court swing, which is the time I have always really looked forward to, even in the challengers, just because I knew it was going to be hot and playing on a surface I know probably the best.

So, yeah, it all kind of starts on my serve, and then if my serve is going well, I think that kind of bodes well for the rest of my game.

Q. When we spoke to Taylor Fritz, he mentioned there was different balls here than they were in Atlanta. I wondered if you noticed a difference and how that affected you at all.

CHRISTOPHER EUBANKS: Yeah, you certainly notice a difference. Certainly when you get out there, first hit, you're, like, Okay, these balls are a little bit different than last week.

The Dunlop ball last week feels really, really good when it's new, and then it just kind of balloons up, gets really, really heavy. These balls are kind of heavy from the beginning, so it's a little bit different.

I mean, we have to adjust to it. We kind of know, you know, as the balls kind of get a little bit older that maybe certain shots, certain serves, at least from me, may not be as effective. So I'm very conscious of when the new balls are coming, because it kind of helps me know, you know, get through this next service game or get through two service games and then things kind of quicken up when we get new balls.

Yeah, it's definitely a factor, but I think players are kind of used to it at this point and we find ways to adjust when we need to. Yeah, new balls, we gotta deal with it.

Q. I just wanted to follow up on your answer about the crowd. Is that how you are no matter where you're playing, that idea of sort of mostly blocking it out, worrying more about what's going on in the match, than the sounds around you? Also, is that something you had to learn and adjust to, or have you always been able to do that? Or when you first got out and started playing in pro tournaments, was it more distracting?

CHRISTOPHER EUBANKS: No, I think from first time I ever played tennis -- when you're on the court, you don't really, there is no real reason to find yourself looking up and looking around.

I kind of get the crowd involved sometimes. I will talk to someone sitting there, but it's very rare that you really get the opportunity to really kind of take it all in, just because usually you're just kind of focused on what you need to do to win the next point.

So I don't think it's really something that had to be learned. It's just a natural instinct of being a tennis player. If I'm playing on a court that's in a local park when I was 14 and I get to play on a big court, whether it's a 250 or 500, yeah, when you walk on the court, I think that's when you kind of notice it, but oftentimes when you walk on the court, the stands aren't really as packed as they are as 4-3 in the first.

So after you kind of walk on and you take it in, after that, things just kind of try to normalize a little bit and you try and focus on the court, where your team may be seated, maybe a couple rows up, but there is not really a reason to let the head go completely up and around.

But again, like I said, when you do hear the energy, you hear some cheers, a loud roar, that's when you say -- I have had matches which I didn't even look up, but I could hear it, and I go, Oh, it's pretty packed in here. I can tell.

Yeah, you don't really have to learn it, I don't think.

Q. Everyone is talking about your confidence and seeing how confident you are on the court. Is this the most confident you have ever felt on a tennis court? Or at least in your pro career?

CHRISTOPHER EUBANKS: Yeah.

Q. And can you compare that to some other time before your pro career when you felt really confident? What shot does that bleed into when...

CHRISTOPHER EUBANKS: What, what?

Q. What shots that you're making does that really help with that you're able to do more and try more?

CHRISTOPHER EUBANKS: Well, kind of like I said earlier, if my serve is going, that's always going to be the biggest thing. The serve is always a barometer for my form, my confidence, whatever. If I'm serving well and I'm serving well under pressure, everything else can kind of take care of itself.

It probably is the most confident I have felt in my pro career. I would say my junior year in college, I probably felt maybe a little bit more confident because I actually had the goal of kind of going into the NCAA tournament wanting to win it that year. That was kind of the first year that I said, All right, I want to win it this year. I think I was pretty confident then. I think I maybe lost two matches in the spring, something like that. I was playing really, really well. I generally felt like when I stepped foot on the court I didn't feel like I was supposed to lose.

Granted, it's a been a lot of years since then, but definitely would say this is the most confident I have felt as a pro.

Q. I know you've said before that there hasn't been much difference between, like, your game from last year to this year. Would you say your confidence has been any different, or has that kind of remained? Like, I guess what's interesting is that Coco Gauff, when asked what has changed about your game, she said your belief in it, essentially. Curious what you would have to say to that.

CHRISTOPHER EUBANKS: So what was the question again, what is the...

Q. So I know you said, like, nothing has really changed about your game so much from one year to the next, but would you say that the confidence is one of the things that's brought you so much success?

CHRISTOPHER EUBANKS: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think, yeah, it's probably the biggest thing. I think a lot of it kind of started I would say a little bit last year, kind of getting the burden I felt like off my shoulders of never having a Grand Slam win, and I got my first one in at the US Open.

I think that was kind of the first -- I told friends of mine, I said, All right, now I actually feel like a pro. Because I felt like for years there were guys who maybe were ranked lower than me at the time but hit third round US Open, or had gotten Grand Slam wins under their belt, and I think I might have been, like, 0-5 or 0-6.

So I think that's kind of where it really started was at US Open, getting my first win under the belt, and then things just kind of started to grow a little bit from there.

I think the confidence definitely started there, and it's grown a little bit ever since all the way to this point pretty much.