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Chris Eaton (tennis)

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Chris Eaton
Country (sports)United Kingdom Great Britain
ResidenceEast Horsley Surrey, England, UK
Born (1987-11-27) 27 November 1987 (age 36)
Guildford, Surrey, England
Height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[1]
Turned pro2007
Retired2012
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money$169,080
Singles
Career record2–2 (in ATP Tour and Grand Slam main draws, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 317 (15 June 2009)
Grand Slam singles results
Wimbledon2R (2008)
Doubles
Career record3–5 (ATP Tour and Grand Slam main draws, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 147 (2 May 2011)
Grand Slam doubles results
Wimbledon3R (2010)
Team competitions
Davis CupEuro/Africa Zone Group I 1R (2009)
Last updated on: 17 June 2021.

Christopher Philip Eaton (born 27 November 1987) is a British retired tennis player. He reached his career-high singles ranking of World No. 317 in June 2009, and his career-high doubles ranking of World No. 147 in May 2011. Eaton is currently the assistant coach at Wake Forest University.

In February 2009, Eaton played what was then the longest tennis match in history, lasting 6 hours and 40 minutes, eventually beating James Ward 21–19 in the fifth set. This was a playoff match to decide the Davis Cup team, but it was not sanctioned by the ATP, so was not an official record, and it was later broken.[2]

Early and personal life

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He learned to play tennis at Reed's School.[3] He was nicknamed the "Eaton Rifle" due to his big serve.[4]

From age 8 to 16, he was coached by Justin Sherring.

Junior career

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Eaton reached a career high of No. 97 in April 2005 at age 17. In his only singles main draw junior grand slam match, and his final match as a junior, he lost to Donald Young at Wimbledon in 2005, 1–6, 5–7.[5]

Senior career

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2007

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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 No. 839 Amir Hadad. He finished 2007 ranked No. 656 in singles play.

2008

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Eaton made little singles progress in the first 4 months of the year. However, 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, No. 90 Guillermo García López, before losing to No. 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 Wimbledon Championships, beating No. 140 Mikhail Kukushkin, No. 206 Jan Minář, and No. 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 Wimbledon Championships first round he beat Serbia's Boris Pasanski 6–3 7–6(8–6) 6–4.[6] He then faced Russia's Dmitry Tursunov, the number 25 seed in the second round on Court One, his first show-court appearance. However, he could not continue his winning streak and Eaton lost 6–7(2), 2–6, 4–6.[7] As a result of his performance at Wimbledon, Eaton's ranking rose to a career high of 386. This made him eligible for Challenger events.

2009

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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 singles players to represent Great Britain in the Euro/Africa Zone Group I tie 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,[2] 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 Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins.

Eaton lost his first 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 didn't appear in the plans of captain John Lloyd for forthcoming fixtures.

2010

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At Wimbledon Eaton and doubles partner Dominic Inglot defeated the defending champions Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjić in the second round,[8] to achieve his best Slam result with a third round appearance.

Eaton began playing touchtennis as a pastime against other former professional tennis players as well as current park players and rank amateurs. He has won one title and hosted a weekly tennis phone in show on the sports website.[9]

Eaton played his last match in the 2012 Wimbledon qualifying second round. He joined the Wake Forest men's tennis staff as an assistant coach in the 2016–17 season.

He coaches doubles player Henri Kontinen.[10]

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals

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Singles: 4 (3–1)

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Legend
ATP Challenger (0–0)
ITF Futures (3–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (2–0)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (1–1)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Jan 2010 Great Britain F1, Glasgow Futures Hard United Kingdom Jamie Baker 6–4, 6–4
Loss 1–1 Jan 2011 Germany F3, Kaarst Futures Carpet Czech Republic Jan Mertl 5–7, 4–6
Win 2–1 Apr 2011 Switzerland F3, Taverne Futures Carpet Germany Peter Torebko 6–3, 6–4
Win 3–1 Jul 2011 Great Britain F11, Chiswick Futures Hard Australia Benjamin Mitchell 7–5, 6–1

Doubles: 38 (23–15)

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Legend
ATP Challenger (1–1)
ITF Futures (22–14)
Finals by surface
Hard (23–10)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (2–3)
Carpet (1–2)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Mar 2006 China F4, Jiangmen Futures Hard United Kingdom Andrew Kennaugh China Yu Xinyuan
China Zeng Shaoxuan
4–6, 5–7
Loss 0–2 Jun 2006 Turkey F2, Istanbul Futures Hard United Kingdom Andrew Kennaugh Israel Victor Kolik
Israel Ishay Hadash
3–6, 5–7
Win 1–2 Mar 2007 Israel F2, Ramat HaSharon Futures Hard Israel Amit Inbar Czech Republic Roman Vögeli
Germany Alexander Satschko
7–5, 6–2
Win 2–2 Aug 2007 Great Britain F14, Wrexham Futures Hard France Pierrick Ysern United Kingdom Edward Corrie
United Kingdom Tom Rushby
6–1, 6–2
Loss 2–3 Jan 2008 Great Britain F2, Sheffield Futures Hard United Kingdom Ken Skupski Czech Republic Jiří Krkoška
India Purav Raja
6–7(7–9), 6–7(4–7)
Win 3–3 Feb 2008 Croatia F1, Zagreb Futures Hard Estonia Mait Künnap Canada Pierre-Ludovic Duclos
Russia Denis Matsukevich
2–6, 7–5, [10–8]
Win 4–3 Mar 2008 Portugal F5, Lagos Futures Hard Australia Carsten Ball United Kingdom Neil Bamford
United Kingdom Josh Goodall
6–2, 6–4
Loss 4–4 Mar 2008 Portugal F6, Albufeira Futures Hard Israel Amir Weintraub United Kingdom Neil Bamford
United Kingdom Josh Goodall
3–6, 4–6
Loss 4–5 Apr 2008 Russia F1, Moscow Futures Carpet United Kingdom Alexander Slabinsky Russia Sergei Demekhine
Russia Konstantin Kravchuk
1–6, 2–6
Loss 4–6 Sep 2008 France F13, Bagnères-de-Bigorre Futures Hard France Pierrick Ysern France Olivier Charroin
Latvia Andis Juška
5–7, 4–6
Win 5–6 Jan 2009 Great Britain F1, Glasgow Futures Hard United Kingdom Jamie Baker France Romain Jouan
France Pierrick Ysern
7–5, 6–0
Win 6–6 Aug 2009 Great Britain F10, Ilkley Futures Grass Austria Martin Fischer Australia Sadik Kadir
India Purav Raja
7–5, 3–6, [10–6]
Loss 6–7 Aug 2009 Great Britain F11, Ottershaw Futures Hard United Kingdom Jamie Baker United Kingdom Dominic Inglot
United Kingdom Tim Bradshaw
6–4, 6–7(2–7), [3–10]
Loss 6–8 Aug 2009 India F7, New Delhi Futures Hard United Kingdom Sean Thornley India Ashutosh Singh
India Vishnu Vardhan
3–6, 7–6(7–5), [8–10]
Win 7–8 Sep 2009 India F9, New Delhi Futures Hard India Rohan Gajjar India Ashutosh Singh
India Vishnu Vardhan
7–6(8–6), 7–6(7–3)
Win 8–8 Sep 2009 Great Britain F13, Wrexham Futures Hard United Kingdom Dominic Inglot South Africa Andrew Anderson
Republic of Ireland Colin O'Brien
3–6, 6–3, [10–6]
Win 9–8 Sep 2009 Great Britain F14, Nottingham Futures Hard United Kingdom Dominic Inglot United Kingdom Josh Goodall
United Kingdom Matthew Illingworth
6–3, 6–4
Win 10–8 Oct 2009 Great Britain F15, Glasgow Futures Hard United Kingdom Dominic Inglot United Kingdom Daniel Cox
Belarus Uladzimir Ignatik
6–0, 7–6(7–5)
Win 11–8 Jan 2010 Great Britain F1, Glasgow Futures Hard United Kingdom Dominic Inglot France Olivier Charroin
France Alexandre Renard
4–6, 6–3, [10–2]
Loss 11–9 Jan 2010 Great Britain F2, Sheffield Futures Hard United Kingdom Dominic Inglot France Olivier Charroin
Latvia Andis Juška
2–6, 4–6
Win 12–9 Feb 2010 Bosnia & Herzegovina F2, Sarajevo Futures Carpet United Kingdom Dominic Inglot Republic of Ireland Colin O'Brien
Republic of Ireland James McGee
walkover
Loss 12–10 Jul 2010 Great Britain F10, Frinton Futures Grass United Kingdom Josh Goodall United Kingdom Tim Bradshaw
United States James Ludlow
4–6, 7–6(9–7), [7–10]
Win 13–10 Jan 2011 Great Britain F1, Glasgow Futures Hard United Kingdom Alexander Slabinsky Finland Harri Heliövaara
Finland Juho Paukku
6–7(3–7), 6–1, [10–2]
Win 14–10 Jan 2011 Great Britain F2, Sheffield Futures Hard United Kingdom Josh Goodall France Olivier Charroin
France Vincent Stouff
6–1, 6–4
Loss 14–11 Jan 2011 Germany F3, Kaarst Futures Carpet United Kingdom Alexander Slabinsky Germany Marcel Zimmermann
Germany Kevin Krawietz
3–6, 5–7
Win 15–11 Mar 2011 Great Britain F3, Tipton Futures Hard United Kingdom Josh Goodall United Kingdom Miles Bugby
United Kingdom Marcus Willis
6–2, 6–2
Win 16–11 Mar 2011 Great Britain F4, Bath Futures Hard United Kingdom Josh Goodall Switzerland Michael Lammer
Switzerland Alexander Sadecky
6–3, 6–2
Loss 16–12 May 2011 Leon, Mexico Challenger Hard Germany Andre Begemann United States Rajeev Ram
United States Bobby Reynolds
3–6, 2–6
Win 17–12 Jul 2011 Great Britain F8, Manchester Futures Grass United Kingdom Josh Goodall Tunisia Malek Jaziri
France Albano Olivetti
6–4, 7–6(7–3)
Loss 17–13 Jul 2011 Great Britain F9, Ilkley Futures Grass United Kingdom Josh Goodall United Kingdom Sean Thornley
United Kingdom David Rice
7–6(7–2), 3–6, [7–10]
Loss 17–14 Jul 2011 Great Britain F10, Frinton Futures Grass United Kingdom Josh Goodall France Julien Maes
France Fabrice Martin
5–7, 6–7(2–7)
Win 18–14 Sep 2011 USA F24, Costa Mesa Futures Hard United Kingdom Neal Skupski United Kingdom Daniel Cox
Australia Adam Hubble
6–3, 6–3
Win 19–14 Oct 2011 USA F26, Austin Futures Hard United Kingdom Edward Corrie United States Benjamin Rogers
Australia John-Patrick Smith
7–6(8–6), 6–2
Win 20–14 Jan 2012 Great Britain F1, Glasgow Futures Hard United Kingdom Dominic Inglot United Kingdom Sean Thornley
United Kingdom David Rice
7–5, 6–2
Win 21–14 Jan 2012 Great Britain F2, Sheffield Futures Hard United Kingdom Dominic Inglot United Kingdom Sean Thornley
United Kingdom David Rice
6–3, 7–5
Loss 21–15 Jan 2012 Great Britain F3, Birkenhead Futures Hard United Kingdom Lewis Burton United Kingdom Sean Thornley
United Kingdom David Rice
2–6, 3–6
Win 22–15 Feb 2012 Dallas, United States Challenger Hard United Kingdom Dominic Inglot United States Nicholas Monroe
United States Jack Sock
6–7(6–8), 6–4, [19–17]
Win 23–15 Mar 2012 Great Britain F4, Tipton Futures Hard United Kingdom Dominic Inglot United Kingdom Sean Thornley
United Kingdom David Rice
6–3, 6–4

References

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  1. ^ ITF Men's profile
  2. ^ a b "Chris Eaton shows stamina with epic Davis Cup play-off win". Telegraph. 25 February 2009.
  3. ^ Slot, Owen (26 June 2008). "Chris Eaton's school of hard knocks pays off". The Times. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  4. ^ "Eaton devoured by steely Tursunov as ace 'rifle' misfires". Belfast Telegraph. 10 July 2008. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  5. ^ ITF Junior Activity for Eaton, itftennis.com; accessed 11 July 2016.
  6. ^ "Chris Eaton in stunning Wimbledon win against Boris Pasanski". Times. 25 June 2008.
  7. ^ "Eaton undone by classy Tursunov". BBC Sport. 26 June 2008.
  8. ^ "Wimbledon 2010: Chris Eaton and Dominic Inglot triuimph". BBC Sport. 26 June 2010.
  9. ^ Profile, touchtennis.com; accessed 11 July 2016.
  10. ^ Jones, Chris (16 July 2017). "Jamie Murray and Heather Watson cross swords in mixed doubles final". The Times. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
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