Matthew Ebden shocks Mardy Fish in the third round – BNP Paribas Open 2012
Australian qualifier, Matthew Ebden, made first major upset of the event so far, as he ousted the eighth seed, Mardy Fish, in straight sets 6-3, 6-4, in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, USA on Monday.
The Aussie required just an hour and 24 minutes to book his place in the last 16.
Ebden made his intentions clear from the beginning, as he dominated his serve games and gave his opponent tough time on the return shots. The Australian made a breakthrough in the fourth game of the opener and consolidated on it
to build a 4-1 lead. The 24-year-old did not allow Fish to strike back, sealing it 6-3.
Ranked 91st in the world, Ebden pounded two aces and 74 percent of the first deliveries. The 6ft 2in tall dropped just six points in five serve games in the opener.
Both players faltered on serve at the start of the second set. Four straight serve breaks took the scores to 2-2. Ebden and Fish managed to hold their serves in the next four games to take the score to 4-4. However, the American
lost his serve once again and Ebden capitalised on it to claim two games in a row, capturing it 6-4.
Fish was self destructive with his miserable serve game. The 30-year-old delivered four poor double faults and hit just 49 percent of the first serves to convert merely 10 of the 17 points.
Ebden was extremely happy on routing the top American in his own backyard. He said, “Especially in America, to beat the top player here is an incredible feeling. Very big win. I'm just loving what I'm doing out here. I really love
competing hard and tackling the opportunity. I’ll do that again. I will look forward to the next one.”
On the other hand, Fish’s disappointment was obvious from his statements after the match. The American said, “Obviously you have to stay positive. There's just no way around it. You have to look at the fact that I have worked my
butt off to be where I am right now and be 8 in the world, and we've put in a lot of sweat and a lot of work to be here.”
Ebden is pitted against American number two John Isner in the fourth round.
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