Matt Ebden’s resurgence in 2015 has been rewarded with a wildcard into next weeks Australian Open, where he has drawn Marcel Granollers in the first round.
The West Australian was just one spot away from gaining direct entry into the event but will now line up at Melbourne Park for the sixth time.
After battling injury and illness in 2014, Ebden bounced back with two tournament wins in 2015, with his ranking climbing over 200 places to sit just outside the world’s top 100.
While Ebden is 1-1 in career head-to-head meetings against Granollers, he heads in to round one with a less-than-ideal preparation after a first round loss in Canberra earlier this week to world #95 Daniel Gimeno-Traver.
Ebden was also forced to miss last week’s Brisbane International to attend the funeral of his one-time coach and mentor Darren Tandy.
Ebden’s best performances at the Open came in 2012 and 2014 where he made the second round.