If the ATP Tour came to you and said, “Chris Eubanks, where should we add a tournament?”, what would you say?
I’m pretty partial to the States. I feel comfortable there. There used to be a tournament in San Diego but it went away. I would love to have another tournament in San Diego, just because I love San Diego! The weather there is super nice. I love California in general.
The thing is, they’ve done a good job of putting tournaments in places that I enjoy. Miami, New York, Phoenix, Dallas, Houston—all of my favorite places, they really have covered. Maybe LA, actually. That would be cool. The only place we have close to LA and San Diego is Indian Wells [in Coachella Valley].
When you check into a hotel and get to your room for the first time, what are some things that you like to see?
Space. I’m pretty tall! I don’t like being cramped in small hotel rooms. I definitely need a thermostat that can turn the room pretty cold. I like sleeping in the cold. Honestly, I’m pretty easy. As long as the bed is there, the bed is clean—actually, good WiFi is probably the first thing that I check for. If I get good WiFi, a clean bed, and enough space, I’m pretty good.
I very rarely turn the TV on anymore. I’m usually on my computer or iPad, so I don’t really care about the TV. Closet space is nice, you’re not able to get that everywhere. If I know I’m gonna be somewhere for a while, I like unpacking. It just makes the morning routine so much easier. Those trips that are just two or three days? I call that the In-Between Zone. Do I really want to unpack? But for tournaments, unpacking is one of the first things that I do.
Every shower in every hotel is different, too. I never know what I’m doing.
We run into that as well. I find it to be most difficult in Europe. Sometimes you go in there to take a shower and you just can’t figure it out. The half glass thing, I don’t get it, doesn’t make any sense.
Do you still like hotels?
I don’t mind hotels! I don’t mind coming back every day and having my room made. I may not be the best at making my bed when I’m at home, so it’s nice to come back after a day of training and feel like your room is in perfect order. Living out of a hotel has never really been a problem for me, and I definitely have some that are my favorites now.
Are you a big room service guy?
That’s a great question. If there’s a restaurant at the hotel that has the staples—club sandwich, cheeseburger—I’m all about it. Go ahead and bring that up. I don’t have to leave? Just post up, watch shows, sit in my room with dinner, and go to bed? I can do that almost every single day. I’ve started to try and do a better job of getting out of that habit by going out to dinner with my friends. I don’t mind that, but I love my personal time. But I will order a good room service burger at the drop of a hat. If there’s any indecisiveness about what we’re doing for dinner I’ll say, “You guys figure it out, I’m going to order the burger and have a good night.”
Are you an adventurous eater? With all the international travel that tennis requires, have you expanded your diet?
No. Usually when I go to a new city, I find a restaurant near the hotel on that first day. If it’s pretty solid, best bet is we’re going there a lot. I don’t really branch out. I’m very much a creature of habit. I like my routines. If they have a good lasagna bolognese? Alright, that’s going to be dinner for the next four or five nights, guys. I’m just going to get the same thing so I don’t have to think about it.
Never tried escargot when you’re in France?
Nah. I’m perfectly happy going to Chipotle.
Is that your comfort chain? Like when you’re traveling and need something easy and familiar, is that Chipotle for you?
No, if I’m in a tournament, Chipotle is one of them. It’s not something that I crave. But I know it’s reliable. My comfort is Chick-Fil-A. When I go home, there’s one right by my place. I’ll go there and think, it’s good to be home.
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