After Chris Eaton and his serve and volley brand of tennis set him on a short but sweet run at this year’s Wimbledon, even his rundown Vauxhall Astra wasn’t spared the attention. British newspapers noted the car, whose broken mirror happened to be held together by duct tape, and it’s unlikely presence in a car park at SW19 bursting with fancy wheels — much like the 20-year-old’s successful attempt at qualifying for the Big W, and holding his own against the big fish. Eaton managed a second-round appearance after defeating a player ranked more than 500 places above him in the first round, prompting the usual over-the-top sobriquets that tennis success-starved Britons tend to accumulate. Eaton, though, has managed to keep his head down and quietly continue the good work. “It’s good to just ignore the hype,” smiles Eaton, speaking after his first-round victory at the $50,000 ATP Challenger tournament here today. “It feels good for 5-6 days, and it’s really unavoidable for a Briton playing at Wimbledon to stay away from it, but life hasn’t been that different for me since then. I still have the same car, for starters,” he jokes.“This Wimbledon was like nothing I had ever imagined. I was happy to be in the main draw, but to win a round at my home Slam was amazing. The atmosphere on court one for my second-round match was so unbelievably noisy — I had a great time. It helped my ranking, so I can get entry into better tournaments than I previously used to play. Also, I figure the level of my game goes up if I’m playing against the top guys, I feel more confident now.”Though tennis demands his undivided attention now, he could very well have been donning cricket whites rather than Wimbledon’s traditional all-white gear if it weren’t for the monotony of the gentleman’s game.“I was crazy about cricket, the choice was between being a batsman or a tennis player. But I figured, if I play cricket, once I get dismissed, I’ll just have to sit and watch the others bat. Boring,” he laughs. The cricket fanaticism hasn’t faded, though, as is evident in the pained expression that follows a mention of England’s capitulation against South Africa.There’s nothing much he can do about those cricketing matters right now, but the tennis is in his hands. Eaton has seen tough times already — his village in East Horsley once collected 30,000 pounds to aid financial difficulties early in his career — but for Eaton, whose claim to fame was previously a short hitting session with Andre Agassi two years ago, has now done enough to be a name by himself.
