Chris Eubanks finds newfound fame after Wimbledon run. Can he stay hot ahead of US Open?

ATLANTA — Chris Eubanks has played his hometown Atlanta Open a few times before, but until Tuesday there had never been a line of people asking him to stop and take a picture when he took his rackets to the stringer. He had never had a star athlete like Cam Newton come to watch him play. And he’d certainly never been introduced before his first-round match as "our hometown hero."

But Eubanks, 27, is proof that two weeks in sports can change your life.

Before Wimbledon, Eubanks was a journeyman pro from Georgia Tech who shed tears earlier this year in Miami when he finally cracked the Top 100 for the first time. Then, almost in the blink of an eye, he became the biggest story in American sports, and it was hard to tell which part of it was the most surreal. 

Was it pulling upset after upset in the biggest tennis tournament in the world? Was it appearing on "Good Morning America"? Was it seeing his name on ESPN alerts when he turned on his phone?

GET TO KNOW:Chris Eubanks pulled off another Wimbledon upset

When Eubanks’ run finally ended in the Wimbledon quarterfinals, he flew home and did as little as possible for a few days. When he started going out to some familiar places, he quickly got a sense of just how many people had paid attention, getting recognized in situations where he had always been anonymous before. 

"I genuinely didn’t understand it or didn’t believe it," he said.

Whatever complications may arise from his newfound fame, Eubanks won’t complain. This is the moment he had hoped for, had worked for, had wondered if it would ever come. 

But now that it’s here, there’s a new question Eubanks must reckon with: Was Wimbledon a moment in time he won’t be able to repeat, or has he unlocked a level to his game that will make him one of the best in the world? 

What’s exciting is that either one could turn out to be true.

With the professional tour now in North America for the buildup to the US Open, Eubanks is ranked No. 32 in the world, which means he no longer has to worry about having to qualify for ATP tournaments or playing in Challenger-level events anytime soon.

He’ll automatically get in all the big tournaments for the next several months, giving him a level of job security and financial freedom he’s never experienced as a tennis player.

"It just makes everything easier," said Eubanks’ coach Ruan Roelofse.

The challenge now is figuring out how much to rest, how hard to push and how to peak for the US Open while continuing to ride this unexpected wave. 

At least on Tuesday, all the signals for Eubanks were positive in a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Andres Martin, another former Georgia Tech player. To be sure, it was a friendly matchup ‒ Eubanks and Martin practice together frequently ‒ but the quality of his game looked no different than it did at Wimbledon with an untouchable serve and 31 winners to just five unforced errors. 

Eubanks, admittedly, has always been kind of a hot-and-cold player. With his big weapons, he could be a nightmare to play. But he could just as easily fall into a bad patch and lose to all kinds of players outside the Top 100. If Eubanks can back up Wimbledon with a couple of good results, he may indeed turn the corner on that narrative.

"It’s always been something I’ve struggled with," he said. "But I think now I’m kind of hitting my stride and being able to put together quality wins every week, and even if I’m not winning I’m putting forth a good effort and playing the right way, which is something I don’t think I always did."

Tennis needs Eubanks to stick around at the top level for a little while. He has always been a popular player among his peers on both the men’s and women’s tour, and hardcore fans have seen how intelligent and articulate he is during his stints as a commentator on Tennis Channel. 

But for some reason, his personality, his flashy game and his on-court demeanor really connected during Wimbledon with people who don’t typically pay attention to tennis. Perhaps more than any other American player of the last decade, Eubanks has that undefinable star quality that draws fans in. 

"He's a very engaging guy," said John McEnroe, the former No. 1 who now works as a commentator for ESPN. "He was loving every minute of it and feeding off the crowd. We needs those types of personalities. If we had guys like that moving up that had that type of personality, tennis would be in a lot better shape. We need more Chris Eubanks around."

But for tennis to truly capitalize on this moment, Eubanks needs to keeps winning. If Wimbledon was merely the result of a hot two-week run, the impact will fade away and he’ll be left with a lifetime of great memories. But if he now has the game and the confidence to compete with the best on a regular basis, this week won’t be the last time he gets a hero’s welcome when he walks onto a tennis court. 

"When I’m going into Grand Slams now, I think I’m maybe expecting a little more of myself or knowing what my capabilities are and what I can do,” Eubanks said. “It’s more of a mental adjustment in how I view myself."