Ebden Fires 20 Aces To Defeat Blake In Atlanta

Written by: Staff on 19th July 2012

Ebden Fires 20 Aces To Defeat Blake In Atlanta

epa03145036 Matthew Ebden of Australia hits a return against John Isner of USA during the BNP Paribas Open tennis in Indian Wells, California, USA 14 March 2012. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO |

(Original Story: http://www.atpworldtour.com/news/tennis/2012/07/29/atlanta-thursday-fish-isner-in-action.aspx)

Australian Matthew Ebden struck 20 aces in a 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-4 win over American James Blake on Thursday at the BB&T Atlanta Open. Ebden, who won 88 per cent of his first serve points, claimed the decisive break in the ninth game of the third set.

World No. 82 Ebden will play his first quarter-final since last October at the Shanghai Rolex Masters and faces Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller next. Muller advanced after second seed and two-time reigning champion Mardy Fish was forced to retire from their match midway through the second set.

Fish led Muller 6-4, 2-2 before injuring himself while trying to chase down a drop shot. After taking a minute to recover from the fall, Fish served out the game to move ahead 3-2, but was unable to continue.

Top seed John Isner, the runner-up to Fish the past two years, also features Thursday in a night-session match against Belgian qualifier Ruben Bemelmans.

Topics: 10sballs.com, American tennis news, Atlanta Open 2012, James Blake, Matthew Ebden, Sports