| Tuesday, 24 June 2008 Written by Sally Easton British qualifier Chris Eaton delighted the home crowd in dispatching Boris Pashanski of Serbia in straight sets in a cracking first round tie, winning 6-3, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4. It was standing room only on Court 3 as spectators crammed to the rafters in the dying embers of daylight, and the local boy from Surrey wowed them with a gutsy display. Eaton now joins compatriot Andy Murray in the second round of the men’s draw after the number 12 seed had earlier breezed through his opener against French veteran Fabrice Santoro. The unfancied 20-year-old played out of his skin against a player sitting no fewer than 547 places above him in the rankings, sending down 18 aces in the first two sets alone, both of which he pocketed in thrilling fashion. 25-year-old Pashanski, who is Serbian number three behind Novak Djokovic and Janko Tipsarevic, showed better form in the third set but again found himself up against it at 4-5 and serving to stay alive. A first match point came and went but there would be no denying Eaton, and the crowd rose to a man to acclaim their new hero as Pashanski put his final groundstroke long. "Playing on the Futures circuit, it's very hard," said Eaton after the match regarding his less prestigious career to date. "There's no glamour. There's nothing. You’ve just got to get out there, motivate yourself. There's no atmosphere. You just got to fight for every single point, fight for every single match. Hopefully you end up here. Obviously my hard work's paid off for me."
"I'd love to try one of the show courts, to be honest with you," added Eaton, who will face Russian number 25 seed Dmitry Tursunov in the next round. "It would be a great experience. I don't mind - put me anywhere! I just really enjoy playing tennis at the moment."
| Court 3 - Gentlemen's Singles - 1st Round | |
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