NATIONAL BANK OPEN

August 7, 2023

Christopher Eubanks

Press Conference

G. MONFILS/C. Eubanks

7-6, 6-7, 6-1

CHRISTOPHER EUBANKS

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Chris, obviously not the result you wanted today, but it's been a really good year for the Americans overall, altogether. How is the success of your compatriots kind of helped you guys push one another?

CHRISTOPHER EUBANKS: Yeah, I think it serves as motivation. I think when you see somebody that you know and you play, you practice with, maybe you grew up playing against, you know, having success at the highest level, which I think we've seen Frances and Fritz and Tommy, those guys are kind of holding the mantle right now.

And I didn't really grow up with Fritz or Frances, but I grew up with Tommy kind of playing tournaments in the South. So to see him as a Grand Slam semifinalist was really cool this year in Australia. So I think it kind of serves as motivation. These are guys that we know. These are guys we practice with, we compete against.

So to see them do well kind of serves as that extra push to say, hey, maybe -- or extra belief maybe that, hey, maybe we can do something special as well.

Q. After all the success you had in the grass season, your first title, that deep run at Wimbledon, how have you found your life on tour and your approach to events has changed?

CHRISTOPHER EUBANKS: Yeah, I think -- it's weird because you don't want it to change too much because it's clearly worked, whatever my mindset and my approach.

But it's very tough to -- it's very tough for things to not change, like, just being real. Like, you can sit here and say, Oh, nothing is really going to...

But I think my training and the process that I say that I go into tournaments with is still the same, which is probably the most important thing. I think for now, for me, I think it's probably like a little bit more expectation out of myself, not really outside expectations.

I think now when I show up to tournaments I feel like, Hey, I could really be here for a while. And this is the first time really in my career that I've ever had that, say, self-imposed pressure a little bit because I've just kind of -- I think I told somebody recently that I would show up to tournaments and, like, Oh, man, if I could get through a couple rounds, that's a good week for me.

While that mindset has kind of served me well, I think in certain times or certain weeks it maybe held me back. So it's like trying to find that balance on being -- still keeping that freedom like I feel like I've had in Mallorca -- well, I mean, for the past year, really, I have been playing really, really free.

I think finding a way to keep that now is going to be the biggest challenge for me, and that's something that I'm going to have to try to figure out.

Q. The way you improved a lot on grass was kind of unexpected. Do you think that could help you on hard court and how?

CHRISTOPHER EUBANKS: I think certain elements like the transition to net is probably going to be the biggest thing and getting comfortable executing volleys and knowing the right volley to go at the right time.

The serve and volley has always been something that I've battled throughout my career of implementing just because for some reason it always would feel worse losing a point serve-and-volleying than it did if I just missed the first ball forehand. It was just always a thing. I didn't want to lose a point serving and volleying.

But I think during the grass court season I did a good job of getting that out of my head and just doing it. And hopefully I can use that tool or tactic that I think I've gotten a decent bit better at, using it on I the hard courts, because I think it can still be effective there.

So probably the transition game and serve and volley.

Q. Do you have an explanation, explaining it to yourself, how things came together this year for you fairly late in the career-wise and came together so exceptionally for you?

CHRISTOPHER EUBANKS: So do I have an explanation as to?

Q. What do you attribute that to.

CHRISTOPHER EUBANKS: I think just kind of around last year this time, I was very frustrated with where I was. And I said, you know, there's certain elements of professionalism that I hadn't really probably buttoned up as much as I could have.

I was always very good on court and always very good in the gym. But after that, in terms of recovery, in terms of warming up, in terms of cooling down, in terms of -- sleep I've always been good just because I like sleep.

But eating and the timing of what I'm eating and stuff, it's -- eating on court is probably one of the biggest things for me, something that I always knew I needed to do, but I felt like I -- I knew I should do. I didn't feel like I need it because I felt just like my matches aren't that physical feel and it's an extra thing to think about.

And it was about a year ago where I said, All right, I'm just going to try to give myself six months of kind of doing all the stuff I didn't do before, and let's just see what happens.

And I think I saw some immediate success getting my first Grand Slam win in New York, and that was pretty much all I needed. I said, Okay, well we're going to keep doing this thing for the next few months and let's see where things go.

That's probably been the biggest thing. I always felt like I was good on court and in the gym. But off the court, in terms of taking care of my body, pretty much really just taking care of my body was probably the biggest thing that I really have done a good job of improving over these past 12 months.

Q. You're one of ten Americans in the top 75 right now, but I think you're probably one the few ones old enough to remember Andy Roddick winning the US Open. This year marks 20 years since the last American man has won a Grand Slam title. Do you remember watching that match? And if you didn't, what do you remember or what do you know of it?

CHRISTOPHER EUBANKS: Unfortunately, I don't remember that match that well. A lot of my childhood is a bit of a blur for some reason. I don't know why.

I can remember certain matches. I can remember his match with Federer in the final at Wimbledon. That's one I can remember pretty well, like, kind of being in front of the TV watching. That '03 is a bit of a -- I think I was, like, seven. I don't remember that much from being seven. I remember going to tournaments and whatnot.

But, I mean, I always remember Andy kind of being the bearer for American tennis for years and how he handled that so exceptionally well. And then, obviously, James was right there with him inside the top 10. Marty came along inside the top 10.

But even still, throughout those ups and downs, Andy was a really, really consistent player kind of holding that mantle as the number one American. So I can remember that and I can remember the pride that he had in being the No. 1 American.

I can remember when he retired and it was kind of that find that question of who was going to be the next guy. John filled that void for a good bit of time, as well, and did it exceptionally well. So I can kind of remember that. I cam remember post US Open.

I do remember, though, I used Andy's racket, his Babolat Pure Drive, when I was young. And that was kind of the thing of, like, oh. It was probably one of the more popular rackets for juniors at that time.

But I remember saying, Oh, if Roddick won the US Open with this, maybe I can play well with it too. Other than that, I don't have many memories of that match.