Ten Things You May Not Know About Matthew Ebden

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Ten Things You May Not Know About Matthew Ebden

By Erik Gudris

Photo Credit: ATP World Tour

Matthew Ebden and Ryan Harrison Speak to the ATP

(July 20, 2012) -- He may not be as well known as likely future Hall of Famer Lleyton Hewitt and the talented if sometimes turbulent Bernard Tomic, but Australia's Matthew Ebden is a name to watch as he heads into his first quarterfinal of the year in Atlanta.

1. South African Born, Raised in Oz
Ebden was born on November 26th, 1987 in Durban, South Africa. Ebden's parents moved their family to Perth, Australia to give their children more opportunities in athletics. Ebden still resides in Perth full time.

2. Late Bloomer
Though Ebden started playing Futures events when he was 18, it wasn't until 2007 that he won his first Futures title. Ebden qualified for his first ever ATP Tour main draw event in 2010 at Brisbane and qualified for the first time at a Grand Slam in Melbourne in the same year.

3. Legendary Inspiration
Despite being an Aussie, Ebden actually says his two tennis idols when growing up were Andre Agassi and Stefan Edberg. Ebden has also been mentored by Perth resident and 24-time Major singles champion Margaret Court.

4. ATP Breakthrough
Ebden reached the quarters of an ATP Tour event for the first time last year in Shanghai. In March of 2012 at Indian Wells, Ebden scored his first victory over a top ten player when he defeated Mardy Fish in the third round.

5. Ryan Harrison's BFF
It's no big secret that American Ryan Harrison is one of Ebden's best friends on tour. They are frequent doubles partners having won in Newport in 2011 and reaching the quarters of Roland Garros this year. Recently they were interviewed together and were asked about their friendship including when they give each other dating advice.

6. Husband-To-Be
Speaking of dating, Ebden is very much off the market as he became engaged to his long-time girlfriend Kim in January.

7. If He Weren't Playing Tennis...
Ebden was enrolled in law school at the University of Western Australia and briefly considered becoming a lawyer before he deferred his studies to pursue pro tennis full time.

8. Life Outside of Tennis
When not on the courts, Ebden is an avid surfer and also enjoys movies and computer games in his down time.

9. "Big Peach" Success
Ebden has had good results in Atlanta over the last few years. He won the doubles title in 2011 with Alex Bogomolov Jr. and is in the quarters of both the singles and doubles events this week.

10. Winning Philosophy
When asked in a recent interview with Deuce magazine on his commitment to being the best he can be on the court, Ebden said, “I think it’s important no matter what you do in life, to always dedicate yourself. It’s going to take a lot of hard work and commitment to get to where you want to be. I think it’s something Australians have in our culture. (Patrick) Rafter is always encouraging us to work hard. I hope I can take that along with the abilities I have and continue developing my game style, so I can become capable of becoming one of the best players in the world."