Chris Eubanks wrote one of the great stories in tennis at Wimbledon.
The 27-year-old American had never made it beyond the second round of any Grand Slam in his career but he caught fire at the All England Club and went on a Cinderella run to the quarterfinals, where he lost to Daniil Medvedev in five sets.
Things haven’t been as rosy for Eubanks since his moment in the sun at Wimbledon, but he’ll come into the US Open as a seeded player and will undoubtedly have the crowd behind him.
Eubanks is a -390 favorite over Soon-Woo Kwon in Round 1 on Monday.
Chris Eubanks vs. Soon-Woo Kwon pick
This is a fun match to handicap for a couple of reasons.
First there is the question of how Eubanks will handle the pressure of being a seeded, very popular American player at the US Open. His form after Wimbledon has been spotty — he’s lost three in a row and four of his last five — and now he’ll have some weight on his shoulders in front of a big crowd eager to see him re-write his dramatic story from England.
And while being a seeded player meant that Eubanks had a chance of drawing a relatively easy opponent in Round 1, we genuinely have no idea how Kwon will play after a long-term injury cost him six months.
That injury was unfortunate timing for Kwon as he won a title in Adelaide just weeks before he went down.
Jumping right back into the thick of things at the US Open is a tall task for a player after six months on the sidelines, but Eubanks is a pretty straightforward opponent all things considered.
Eubanks will rely on his serve to keep points short and hope that his opponent makes a mistake or two that he can pounce on to win the set. Because Eubanks isn’t a physically punishing player to take on, Kwon should have a decent setup in this match despite the rust factor.
Had Eubanks not had his run at Wimbledon, this line would likely look pretty different even with Kwon coming off the long layoff.
Tennis Abstract actually makes Kwon a 55.6% favorite in this match and while I think that number is off because of the long layoff, it does tell you that these players are basically peers if you just observe this matchup in a vacuum.
The Bet: Soon-Woo Kwon +300 (FanDuel)