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Christopher Eubanks thrashed fourth seed Adrian Mannarino 6-1, 6-4 in the Mallorca Open final on Saturday (July 1). It was the maiden ATP title for the 27-year-old American, who exhibited tremendous form throughout the tournament.
Eubanks beat Lloyd Harris in the last four on Friday in what was a thrilling encounter that underlined his enviable tenacity.
Mannarino, on the other hand, struggled to deal with the American's power on the day. The Frenchman was simply not good enough to pose a serious challenge to Eubanks, who looked the fitter and stronger of the two players and won the match quite deservingly.
On that note, let us take a look at two things that stood out from the match.
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#1. Christopher Eubanks was on fire in the first set
The American was simply rampant in the first set and offered Adrian Mannarino no respite. He kept moving to the net after hitting approaches and finished points with volleys. He also hit a few stunning return winners to take the Frenchman by surprise.
Mannarino's crosscourt forehand did not contain enough power on the day to put pressure on Eubanks' backhand. As a result, the American dominated most of the crosscourt exchanges from his ad court.
Eubanks broke the Frenchman twice in the first set. He then won the set in a resounding manner by hitting an ace on set point.
#2. Adrian Mannarino struggled to hit through the American
Adrian Mannarino struggled to hit through Christopher Eubanks even on a faster court, as the American defended quite creditably. Eubanks, on the other hand, kept hitting winners off either wing to put the Frenchman under pressure.
He returned very well throughout the match, though Mannarino fared better with his serve in the second set.
Still, Eubanks did enough to get the decisive break of serve in the second set and finished the match on his serve, as Mannarino hit his return wide of the tram line. It was a fantastic win for the American and should give him much confidence ahead of Wimbledon, which will get underway on Monday (July 3).
The American did really well with his first serve in the match. He won a whopping 89% of the points on his first serve, while Mannarino managed only 68%. Eubanks also fired 11 aces and converted each of the three break point opportunities that came his way.
