Tobias Kamke overcomes Matthew Ebden in the final qualifier – Rogers Cup 2011
World number 95 Tobias Kamke of Germany came back after losing the first set to edge past Australian Matthew Ebden, ranked 131st in the world, in three sets 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2 in the final round of the qualifying draw
at the Rogers Cup in Montreal on Sunday. The German needed two hours and sixteen minutes to oust his opponent in a tough clash.
Kamke and the Australian could not break each other throughout the first set, equalising the score at 6-6 and taking the set to a tie-break. Ebden played some aggressive shots in the tie-break, claiming a mini-break and capitalising
on it to win 7-5.
The Australian delivered 62 percent of the first serves and seven aces in the opening set. The right-handed grabbed 24 of the 29 first service points and eight of the eighteen second service points in the first set. Ebden saved
the three break points he faced and could not convert the only break point he received in the opening set.
Kamke and Ebden held their serve in the first seven games of the second set to take the score to 4-3 in the former’s favour. The German broke his opponent in the eighth game to take a 5-3 lead and won his next service game to clinch
the set 6-3.
The Hamburg resident smacked 55 percent of the first serves and two aces in the second set. Kamke converted fourteen of the 21 first serves and ten of the seventeen second serves into points. The German capitalised on one of the
two break point opportunities he created on Ebden’s serve and saved the one break point he faced in the second set.
Kamke took an early lead in the final set, breaking the Australian in the first game and winning his next service game to go ahead 2-0. Ebden broke back in the fourth game to square off the score at 2-2. However, the Australian
could not win any game after that, getting broken in the fifth and seventh game to go down 2-6.
The German did not serve impressively, delivering just one ace and 48 percent of the first serves in the deciding set. The five feet and eleven inches tall, however, returned brilliantly as he won five of the eleven first return
points. The 25-year-old failed to save the one break point he faced but won three of the four break points he received on the Australian’s serve in the third set.
Kamke will take on fifteenth seed Fernando Verdasco of Spain in the opening round of the main draw.
Tags: