What a difference a year can make. A year ago, Chris Eubanks may not have believed he could win an ATP Tour title. All the pieces you’d expect from a guy 6’7” were there: a big serve, a forehand he could unleash, and classic volleys. Also in his possession is a beautiful one-handed backhand that he can slice, crack flat, or come over for a little safety — or for a passing shot, if anybody can get to the net before he does.

What was missing, however, was confidence. “Growing up I was never the best junior, I was never the best in my state or in my section, I never was the best in the nation or any of that stuff. But I just practiced and just worked, and said whatever happens, happens,” Eubanks told the press earlier this year. “I said that I wanted to play pro, but I didn’t know if I really meant it.”

What has happened is that for much of his time on tour since leaving Georgia Tech in 2017, Eubanks has struggled to make the transition from the Challenger Tour to the main ATP Tour. The Atlanta native climbed steadily (save for the pandemic reshuffle), from the 300s to the 100s, but he couldn’t manage to crack the top 100. Until this year, that is. At the Miami Open, he went through two rounds of qualifying and four main draw matches to reach the quarterfinals, where he lost to eventual champion Daniil Medvedev.

Even with the loss, it was an emotional moment when Eubanks learned he would be number 90 in the world at the end of that week’s rankings tally. The fact that he belonged among the best players in the world had finally sunk in and he sat in his sideline seat as the fans ushered out to take it all in.

While most of the world’s top 100 packed their bags for the red clay courts of Europe ahead of Roland-Garros, the 27-year-old stuck with his game plan by playing hard court Challenger events in South Korea.

That choice of schedule wasn’t necessarily the greatest preparation for the French Open, where he lost in the first round to Holger Rune. But opting for the faster hard courts may have helped propel him to his first ATP Tour title last week at the Mallorca Championships, beating Adrian Mannarino in the final 6-1, 6-4. Simply put, Eubanks put on a week-long clinic in classic grass court tennis with beautiful serve and volley technique, chip and charge off second serves, and greasy slice backhand approaches.

The only question now is whether or not Eubanks can carry those tools into a best of five format at Wimbledon. So far in his career, he has only won two first round matches at majors. At 27 years of age, some might think he can’t do much better than that. But now at number 43 in the world, Eubanks seems poised to push further like he has so much of this year. His favorable draw will help him do just that. And if he does so, it will be right on time.