"No place like home" - Chris Eubanks soaks in College Night atmosphere as he celebrates 1R win at Atlanta Open 2023

Chris Eubanks sailed past fellow American Andres Martin in the opening round of the 2023 Atlanta Open on Wednesday, July 26.

The Wimbledon quarterfinalist hit five powerful aces,with 90% win on his first serve to dispatch his opponent, 6-2, 6-4 in one hour and seven minutes. The 27-year-old continues to be in fine form, winning ten out of his last eleven matches.

The atmosphere in the stadium was charged with enthusiastic college students from Georgia Tech as part of College Night at the tournament. They cheered on their alumunus, both Martin and Eubanks among much fanfare. Martin recently completed his junior year at Georgia Tech while Eubanks was a student athlete from 2014-17.

Martin was welcomed with a mini-parade by the college's cheering squad and the ceremonial coin-toss was performed by their men’s basketball team's head coach.

Chris Eubanks took to Twitter to share some pictures where he can be seen celebrating his win with the kids. He wrote:

"No place like home @ATLOpenTennis," Eubanks wrote.

The post also included a picture of Eubanks in action on-court and interacting with fans.

The World No. 32 reciprocated the crowd's sentiments in his post-match on-court interview. He said:

"I knew it was going to be a fun atmosphere," Eubanks said. "I knew college night, even the years that I played it and last year Andres had the privilege of playing on college night, Georgia Tech fans really come out and they show a lot of support."

Chris Eubanks will next face Brandon Nakashima in the second round of the tournament.

Chris Eubanks to clash with Brandon Nakashima in R2 of Atlanta Open 2023

Chris Eubanks at the 2023 Wimbledon

American Chris Eubanks will square off against his compatriot Brandon Nakashima in the second round of the 2023 Atlanta Open on Thursday, July 27.

Eubanks is currently in one of his finest forms, with a title win at the Mallorca Open and a Wimbledon quarterfinal finish, his best at a Grand Slam so far. Ranked outside the Top 100 at the beginning of the season, he has steadily climbed up the rankings ladder with consistent performances to reach his current spot at No. 32.

Brandon Nakashima will come into the match after a straight-set victory over Australian Max Purcell in the previous round. After a breakthrough 2022 with a San Diego Open title and the ATP GenNext title, Nakashima is having somewhat of a dry spell this season. He will be vying for his maiden title of the year at the tournament.

This will be the first on-court encounter between the two players.