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Chris Eaton (tennis)
Encyclopedia
Christopher Philip Eaton (born 27 November 1987 in Guildford
, Surrey
) is an English tennis player. He reached his career-high singles ranking of #319 in June, 2009 and his career-high doubles ranking of #365 in February, 2009 and is the current British #9. He learnt to play tennis at Reed's School.
In his only match against a future top pro, he lost to Donald Young at Wimbledon in 2005, in what was also his final match in junior competition.
and a singles semifinal appearance in Israel F4 in November, where he beat #839 Amir Hadad
.
He finished 2007 ranked #656 in singles play.
making the doubles finals of 5 Futures and winning two of them.
In June, he had a breakthrough singles win in the 2nd round of qualifying at Nottingham, beating his first top-100 opponent, #90 Guillermo García López
, before losing to #111 Vince Spadea
in the final qualifying round. He followed that up the next week as a wild card by qualifying in singles for the 2008 Wimbledon Championships
, beating #140 Mikhail Kukushkin
, #206 Jan Minar
, and #162 Olivier Patience
, scoring 32 aces in that match. He was also given a wild card into the main doubles draw with Alexander Slabinsky
.
In the 2008 Wimbledon Championships
first round he beat Serbia's Boris Pasanski
6-3 7-6(8-6) 6-4. He then faced Russia's Dmitry Tursunov
, the number 25 seed in the second round on Court One, his first show-court appearance, but he could not continue his winning streak and Eaton lost 6-7(2), 2-6, 4-6. As a result of his performance at Wimbledon, Eaton's ranking rose to a career high of 386, which made him eligible for Challenger events.
against Ukraine
. Eaton started well, defeating Alexander Slabinsky
6-4 6-4 2-6 7-6 (7-5). He then beat James Ward
6-3 6-2 6-7 (3-7) 2-6 21-19 in a gruelling match lasting six hours and 40 minutes, making it the longest match in history prior to the epic Isner-Mahut match at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships
. Lloyd had decided he had seen enough, and chose Eaton and Joshua Goodall
as the two players to represent Britain alongside Andy Murray and Ross Hutchins
. Eaton lost his first ever Davis Cup match 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to Ukrainian number 1 Sergiy Stakhovsky
but managed to restore some pride to Team GB, who were on the verge of a whitewash before Eaton managed to beat Illya Marchenko 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 in the remaining dead rubber. Despite putting in one of the better performances by British players other than Andy Murray in the Davis Cup recently, Eaton Doesn't appear to be in the plans of captain John Lloyd for the forthcoming fixtures.
Guildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
) is an English tennis player. He reached his career-high singles ranking of #319 in June, 2009 and his career-high doubles ranking of #365 in February, 2009 and is the current British #9. He learnt to play tennis at Reed's School.
Juniors career
Eaton reached a career high of #97 in April, 2005 at age 17 and 4 months.In his only match against a future top pro, he lost to Donald Young at Wimbledon in 2005, in what was also his final match in junior competition.
Style of play
His main weapon is his consistent serve. He hits his serve with great power and direction and has very good technique. This serve backed up with impressive volleying make him a formidable opponent to break. His ground strokes are fairly average but are always improving.2007
Eaton's best results in 2007 were two Futures championships in doubles in Israel and Great Britain,and a singles semifinal appearance in Israel F4 in November, where he beat #839 Amir Hadad
Amir Hadad
Amir Hadad is a professional tennis player.His highest singles ATP ranking was # 180, in 2003. His highest doubles ranking was # 87, also in 2003.-Tennis career:He turned pro in 1995....
.
He finished 2007 ranked #656 in singles play.
2008
Eaton made little singles progress in the first 4 months of the year. But he had much success in doubles,making the doubles finals of 5 Futures and winning two of them.
In June, he had a breakthrough singles win in the 2nd round of qualifying at Nottingham, beating his first top-100 opponent, #90 Guillermo García López
Guillermo Garcia Lopez
Guillermo García López is a professional male tennis player from Spain.He is good friends with fellow Spanish tennis player Juan Carlos Ferrero, and both train at the JC Ferrero Equelite Tennis Academy in Villena, Spain.- Professional career :On November 23, 2009, García-López achieved his...
, before losing to #111 Vince Spadea
Vince Spadea
Vincent Spadea [SPAY-dee-ya] is an ATP Tour professional tennis player from the United States. He is one of only four players in history to defeat Roger Federer 6–0 in set, at a major event....
in the final qualifying round. He followed that up the next week as a wild card by qualifying in singles for the 2008 Wimbledon Championships
2008 Wimbledon Championships
The 2008 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 122nd edition of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand Slam event of the year...
, beating #140 Mikhail Kukushkin
Mikhail Kukushkin
Mikhail Kukushkin is a professional Kazakh tennis player of Russian origin.-History:Born in Volgograd, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, he turned pro in 2006 and achieved his highest ranking on 1 November 2010....
, #206 Jan Minar
Jan Minár
Jan Minář is a professional Czech tennis player. His brother Ivo is also a professional player.-Wins :-Runners-up :-Wins :-Runners-up :-External links:...
, and #162 Olivier Patience
Olivier Patience
Olivier Patience is a French professional tennis player. His career-high ATP singles ranking was No. 87, on 19 July 2004. During 2006, Patience won 3 ATP Challenger Series tournaments. He registered his best performance in a Grand Slam event to date, when he reached the 3rd round at Roland Garros...
, scoring 32 aces in that match. He was also given a wild card into the main doubles draw with Alexander Slabinsky
Alexander Slabinsky
Alexander Slabinsky is a tennis player who plays under the flag of Great Britain...
.
In the 2008 Wimbledon Championships
2008 Wimbledon Championships
The 2008 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 122nd edition of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand Slam event of the year...
first round he beat Serbia's Boris Pasanski
Boris Pašanski
Boris Pašanski is a professional tennis player on the ATP Tour. He was born in Belgrade, Serbia, in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on November 3, 1982....
6-3 7-6(8-6) 6-4. He then faced Russia's Dmitry Tursunov
Dmitry Tursunov
Dmitry Igorevich Tursunov is a Russian professional male tennis player. He was 12 years old when he came to the United States to train and further his prospects of becoming a professional player....
, the number 25 seed in the second round on Court One, his first show-court appearance, but he could not continue his winning streak and Eaton lost 6-7(2), 2-6, 4-6. As a result of his performance at Wimbledon, Eaton's ranking rose to a career high of 386, which made him eligible for Challenger events.
2009
Having played little more than a few Futures at the start of the year, Eaton was thrust into play-offs, between six British tennis hopefuls, designed by John Lloyd to help pick the two other players to represent Great Britain in the Davis CupDavis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
against Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. Eaton started well, defeating Alexander Slabinsky
Alexander Slabinsky
Alexander Slabinsky is a tennis player who plays under the flag of Great Britain...
6-4 6-4 2-6 7-6 (7-5). He then beat James Ward
James Ward (tennis)
James Ward is a British tennis player, and British no. 2 behind Andy Murray. As of 22 August 2011 he is ranked 139 in the ATP singles rankings and 234 in doubles...
6-3 6-2 6-7 (3-7) 2-6 21-19 in a gruelling match lasting six hours and 40 minutes, making it the longest match in history prior to the epic Isner-Mahut match at the 2010 Wimbledon Championships
2010 Wimbledon Championships
The 2010 Wimbledon Championships took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament ran from Monday 21 June until Sunday 4 July 2010. It was the 124th staging of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand...
. Lloyd had decided he had seen enough, and chose Eaton and Joshua Goodall
Joshua Goodall
Joshua Jake Goodall is a British tennis player and the current British No.12 in Doubles, His ATP Doubles world ranking is 293...
as the two players to represent Britain alongside Andy Murray and Ross Hutchins
Ross Hutchins
Ross Dan Hutchins is a British professional tennis player, known best as a doubles player. Hutchins was born in Wimbledon, a location synonymous with tennis. Having turned professional in 2002, he enjoyed success on the Challenger circuit and broke through to the ATP Tour in late 2007...
. Eaton lost his first ever Davis Cup match 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to Ukrainian number 1 Sergiy Stakhovsky
Sergiy Stakhovsky
Sergiy Stakhovsky is a Ukrainian professional tennis player. Stakhovsky turned professional in 2003 and had been playing mostly at the Challenger level from 2005–2008. His career high in singles of #31 and his high of #86 in doubles...
but managed to restore some pride to Team GB, who were on the verge of a whitewash before Eaton managed to beat Illya Marchenko 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 in the remaining dead rubber. Despite putting in one of the better performances by British players other than Andy Murray in the Davis Cup recently, Eaton Doesn't appear to be in the plans of captain John Lloyd for the forthcoming fixtures.