WATCH: Christopher Eubanks returns to TC Live, talks Frances Tiafoe

WATCH: Eubanks returned to the TC Live Desk for the first time since making a career breakthrough at the Miami Open.

“Toothpick” in the house!

Christopher Eubanks made a triumphant return to the Tennis Channel Live Desk this week, fresh off a career breakthrough at the Miami Open that saw him reach not only reach his first Masters 1000 quarterfinal but also secure a long-awaited Top 100 debut.

Eubanks famously credited good friend Frances Tiafoe for a rain-delay pep talk that helped him score an epic tiebreak win over Grégoire Barrère, and shared Tiafoe’s affectionate nickname for the 26-year-old with co-hosts Brett Haber and Jan-Michael Gambill.

“I’m in the back of the locker room, and all the sudden I hear something muttered that sounds like ‘Toothpick,’” Eubanks laughed as highlights of Tiafoe’s win at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship.

“He checked in with me, asked me how my match is going. I said, ‘I’m playing well but I’m down in the ‘breaker. When we come out of this rain delay, I’ll try to find a rhythm for the third set.’ He looks at me with a confused look and said, ‘Man, you can win seven points in a row. Don’t plan for a third set. Try to win this set immediately!’”

Eubanks indeed won seven of the next eight points to beat Barrère and won two more tiebreakers against Adrian Mannarino to book a last-eight clash with eventual champion Daniil Medvedev at the Hard Rock Stadium. But the rising American star still found time to talk tennis in the wake of earning a career-high ranking of No. 85 to talk Tiafoe’s own run of good fortune, one that puts him at a career-high of his own at No. 11.

“I’m so happy for him,” Eubanks said of Tiafoe, who sits just 195 ranking points behind Taylor Fritz at No. 10. “To see the hard work that he’s put in, the commitment that he’s had to his career and his body, to all the little things off the court. To see all these results paying off, it couldn’t happen to a better person.”

Tiafoe weathered a rainy week in Houston, winning four matches in two days to earn his second career title to both back up a semifinal finish at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and set the stage for what could be a breakthrough clay swing ahead of Roland Garros, the only major where he is yet to reach the second week.

“Frances is so good for the sport. He’s inspiring so many people to follow tennis and so many more people are getting involved in the sport because they want to support him and his story. It’s really incredible to see.”

Whether he’s across the net or calling it from the desk, guarantee Eubanks will be watching.