"Don't know if I stick with that decision": Eubanks recalls on running joke surrounding Federer's one handed backhand being an inspiration

Despite losing in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open, Christopher Eubanks was in good spirits after the match and made some humorous comparisons between his backhand and that of ATP legend Roger Federer.

Eubanks had a breakthrough in Miami, coming through qualifiers to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal, where he lost to former World No.1 Daniil Medvedev. Following the match, the Atlanta native discussed his one-handed backhand and revealed that it was Federer who inspired him to change from a double-hander.

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"I started off two hands on both sides up until the age of about nine or ten," revealed Eubanks. "Then I switched to a one-hand forehand. I think at about 14 I went to a one-hand backhand.

“If I could do it all over again, don't know if I stick with that decision. There are pros and cons to each. Obviously the backhand, you have a lot of variety with the slice, can open up the court, a bit more angle. From time to time I was able to do that pretty well, but something about that ball above the shoulders, man, one-hander is a bit tough.”

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The 26-year old admitted Federer was the reason behind his decision to switch, and jokingly blamed his dad for approving the decision.

“It's a bit of a running joke now between me and some of my friends, my dad, when I switched to the one-handed backhand," said Eubanks. “I wanted to do it because I loved Federer. Now I go to my dad, Why did you let me do that? You had no idea guys would just go throw balls above my shoulder for my entire career. You know, it's how it goes."