Matthew Ebden disposes of Victor Estrella in the opening qualifier – BNP Paribas Open 2012
Men’s qualifiers for the year’s first Masters Series event, the BNP Paribas Open, took off on Tuesday and the third seeded Australian, Matthew Ebden, wins his opening round match comprehensively. He ousted Victor Estrella from
Dominican Republic in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2, to move into the qualifying competition of the star-studded event being played in Indian Wells, California.
Rated at number 91 in the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Rankings, Ebden faced limited difficulties in hunting down the 31-year-old veteran. He kept playing aggressive tennis all the way and bettered his opponent
in every segment of the game to drive him out of the tournament in style. Estrella seemed to be too sloppy against the young legs of the Aussie opponent and was often caught wrongly positioned in the matchup. His bleak game play was not good enough to contain
the belligerence of the third seeded Australian.
Ebden delivered just 58 per cent of his first serve on target but dropped merely four points on it, claiming 26 out of 30, to stamp his authority over the game. He coughed four double faults but they didn’t cause any significant
harm to him, as he kept winning crucial points on regularity. The Australian crafted a total of seven break opportunities in the match and converted four of them to his advantage, whilst the Dominican veteran left stranded with just one break point conversion
in the entire contest to finish on the losing side in the end.
The third seed was quick to start off the opening set, breaking his opponent twice in a row to lead 5-1. Estrella broke back in the seventh game but he was too late to reltaliate; Ebden wins the first set at 6-3 and got one up
in the match. He went on to nail two more break points in the following set, in the first and the seventh games, to conclude his victory in an assertive manner.
Ebden has to go past the 21st seed American contestant, Rajeev Ram, in his next battle to make it through to the main draw of BNP Paribas Open. Ram also registered a convincing straight sets victory, 6-4, 6-2, against
Ivan Navarro of Spain in the opening round of the qualifiers. He will face off against Ebden on Wednesday afternoon and the winner of the two will get a berth in the main rounds of the elite tournament being played in Indian Wells.
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