Australia’s number 3 ranked tennis player Matthew Ebden has booked a date with world No. 1 Rafael Nadal after winning his first round match at Queen’s against India’s Somdev Devvarman.
Ebden looked comfortable in his 7-5 6-3 win over the world No. 67, a player who he lost to in straight sets at last year’s Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
Coming through the qualifying tournament, Ebden defeated countryman Michael Look, Great Britain’s Marcus Willis and Ireland’s Conor Niland to secure a main draw berth.
Ebden said he was making the most of the short grass court season.
“Right now, it probably is my favourite surface … I probably played more on hard court in my whole life, but growing up in Western Australia in Perth we have a lot of grass courts.”
“I did play a lot of junior tennis on grass, so I do feel, you know, very comfortable on it, and I love playing on it and I love this time of year,” he added.
The Australian will face no sterner test in the next round than Nadal, a player who already holds a Wimbledon title and is fresh from his French Open victory over Roger Federer on the weekend, his tenth Grand Slam Singles Title.
“There’s probably not a better club or a better scenario which I’d like to play him,” said Ebden, who made the quarterfinals of a grass court Challenger in Nottingham last week.
“This is his first match on grass. It will be a good one to try to get him.”
“It’s an opportunity but at the end of the day it’s still just another match. You are still just another player, you’re still just another guy out there and trying to win matches like everyone else is,” said the 23 year-old who first laid eyes on the Spaniard at a junior tournament almost a decade ago.
Ebden also warmed up Nadal at this year’s Australian Open in January.
“Obviously he’s the No. 1 player in the world, great player, great guy. I’ll expect the best to be coming at me, and I’ll try to play my best and you know, see what happens.”