Cameron Norrie admitted he was well beaten after suffering a second-round knockout to Chris Eubanks at Wimbledon.
The British number one was left dazed by American Eubanks’ powerful hitting and his haymaker of a serve in a punishing 6-3 3-6 6-2 7-6 (3) defeat.
“I think credit to Chris on that one. He played unbelievable. Served well. Came out, was hitting the ball huge. Didn’t miss at all,” said Norrie.
“I fought as hard as I could. I came up against someone who was really confident. He played great. So he definitely deserved to win the match. I told him that. Everything went his way today, and he deserved it.
“He completely took the racket out of my hand today. I did what I could, but it wasn’t enough.”
The first 20 points of the contest all went with serve, including nine aces, seven from the arm of Eubanks.
Norrie, the 12th seed and a semi-finalist last year, had barely laid a glove on his opponent, winning just three points on the Eubanks serve.
But the South African-born southpaw hauled himself off the canvas and secured an early break in the second set to level the match.
However, Norrie has looked ring-rusty in recent months and Eubanks, a grass-court title-winner in Mallorca in June, took advantage by breaking twice for the third set.
The bank is open for business ?@chris_eubanks96 on Wimbledon debut reaches the third round with a stunning performance against the No.12 seed Cameron Norrie, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(3) ?#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/AMih8z5uEX
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 7, 2023
Eubanks dropped his guard in the fourth, losing his serve to love, but he hit back for 4-4 to leave Norrie on the ropes.
Norrie survived a match point on serve when a Eubanks forehand thudded into the net.
But Eubanks was too strong in the tie-break, a quick one-two of a booming forehand and delicate volley leaving Norrie out for the count.
“It’s the biggest win of my career, no question, by far,” said the 27-year-old.
Prior to his Mallorca win, Eubanks had texted former grand slam champion Kim Clisters, saying grass was “the stupidest surface to play tennis on”.
He added: “That’s a very different person now, I can tell you that much. I’m loving the grass right now. That person who texted Kim was not too high on it. Very different.”
