Matt Ebden’s title win in the Aegon Surbiton Trophy event will see the Australian rise up the world rankings and stake a claim for a Wimbledon wildcard.
Ebden saved two championship points before defeating tournament fourth seed Denis Kudla in 2 hours and 24 minutes, prevailing in three tight sets 6-7 6-4 7-6.
The victory will see the Australian back inside the world’s top 160 after he has battled niggling injuries for the best part of the last nine months.
“It was a great way to finish the week on the grass courts in Surbiton,” Ebden said post match.
“Coming from Perth in Australia, I played a lot of my junior tennis on grass. I always enjoy the grass and this time of year in the UK and am looking forward to the upcoming tournaments.”
Next on agenda for Ebden is the Aegon Ilkley Trophy, again on grass, where he has drawn fellow Australian John Millman in the first round.
Following Ilkley, the 27 year-old is scheduled to play in the qualifying event for Wimbledon, however his recent success is likely to attract the interest of the All England Club as it weighs the claims of the remaining wildcard recipients.
Qualifying gets underway on 22 June, with the main draw commencing a week later on 29 June.