Arthur Ashe is one of the most iconic figures in the history of sports and not just tennis. He has inspired a generation of players to pick up a racket and even after his death, continues to do so. Ashe’s legacy is bound to live on till eternity, as the biggest tennis stadium in the world is named after him at Flushing Meadows in New York, the venue for the showpiece event, the US Open. Recently, Christopher Eubanks’ father revealed how big of an inspiration he was for the family.
The Wimbledon quarter-finalist has become the talk of the town recently with his enormous results in the grass swing. On the occasion of his monumental achievement, his father weighs in on the special connection Eubanks has with Ashe.
Christopher Eubanks idolized Arthur Ashe
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Even though the 27-year-old was born three years after Ashe’s death, his father made sure that his son would know about Ashe’s achievements. He played the role of Arthur Ashe in a documentary and won a sportsmanship award named after the legend in college. His father said to the ATP Tour, “That was very emotional for me because I made him read Arthur Ashe’s book, and he read it. It was more about his character than about his tennis.”
Chris Eubanks was “cast” as Arthur Ashe is Rex Miller’s “Ashe 1968” film… and, appropriately, Eubanks beat Tsitsipas at #Wimbledon for his best career win on what would have been Ashe’s 80th birthday pic.twitter.com/eI9GI3KAsF
— Randy Walker (@TennisPublisher) July 11, 2023
Quite fittingly, Eubanks also registered the biggest win of his career on what would have been Ashe’s 80th birthday. He defeated the world number 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas in five sets to book a place in the Wimbledon quarter-finals. With this win, Eubanks is close to emulating what Arthur Ashe did in 1975, which also happens to be one of the greatest sporting achievements of all time.
Eubanks is 3 wins away from emulating Arthur Ashe’s biggest achievement
To this day, Arthur Ashe remains the last male player of black ethnicity to win a grand slam. His Wimbledon triumph in 1975 goes down as one of the greatest sporting stories of all time. He became the first and till now the last black man to win Wimbledon. Since then the community has faced a 48-year ongoing drought in slams.
On this day in 1975, Arthur Ashe became the first Black man to win Wimbledon singles title.
He was the first black man to win Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open. pic.twitter.com/vNOXd4UIBM
— AFRICAN & BLACK HISTORY (@AfricanArchives) July 5, 2023
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The likes of Frances Tiafoe have come close, but the drought has yet to be broken. Eubanks is three wins away from replicating Ashe’s heroics. The odds are slim, but Eubanks remains one of the six players still alive in this tournament. After triggering two upsets in the tournament already, Eubanks will be looking forward to taking down Daniil Medvedev today.
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Can Christopher Eubanks go all the way for glory at Wimbledon? Do let us know in the comments.