Matt Ebden has lost out to Slovakian Lukas Lacko in a tight three set tussle in the first round of the Aegon Championships.
The West Australian went down 7-6(10) 5-7 6-4 in a match that lasted 1 hour and 52 minutes at The Queens Club in London.
Trailing 5-7 and 2-4, the 26 year-old showed great resilience to fight his way back in to the match, breaking the Slovak and winning 5 of the next 6 games to clinch the second set.
Lacko got the crucial break of serve in the decider at 4 games a-piece after Ebden played a loose game on serve. The Australian managed to save two match points before Lacko prevailed at the third time of asking.
Ebden started the match impressively, managing an early break of the Slovak’s serve to lead 4-2. The first set ended in disappointment for the Australian however, unable to sustain his advantage and also missing set point opportunities in the tie-break.
Ebden will play the ATP event in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands next week to complete his preparations before Wimbledon.