Matthew Ebden: 'I do feel like I’m getting better with age'
The Perth residence Matthew Ebden has been preparing for the 31st edition of the Hopman Cup at the Perth Arena between December 29 - January 5, pairing with Ashleigh Barty to represent Australia in the very last edition of this famous team competition. After a knee injury that required surgery in 2016, Matthew barely managed to stay inside the top-700 and he had to start all over in 2017, winning two Challenger crowns and advancing into his first ATP final in Newport as a qualifier, ranked 249th! The best was yet to come in 2018, though, winning 19 ATP matches despite a slow start of the year and entering the top-40 in October for the first time in a career.
Preparing for the start of the new season, the 31-year-old has expressed confidence and determination to stay on the winning way and achieve even more in the season in front of us, especially in the first month when he will have the support from the home fans. Back in 2015, Ebden was forced to withdraw from the Hopman Cup due to a calf injury but he is now ready to fight for the title with Barty, opening the campaign against France on December 29 and facing Germany and Spain in the remaining matches in Group A. After Perth, Matthew will travel to Sydney and then to Melbourne to enter his eighth Australian Open, winning just three matches at home Major so far.
“I do feel like I’m getting better with age,” said Ebden. “Sometimes it’s hard to equate those feelings because the numbers or rankings or results don’t always show but for me, they have in the last one or two years. I’ve worked hard to be more consistent at the top level and that’s been good for me in the last year or two. As a result of that, more results and more rankings points have come. I’ve got a long way to go. I’ve got a lot still to improve and work on. I’m loving the process of it all. Especially here at home. It’s special. Barty got a good head on her shoulders. She’s showed some good maturity for the last few years for such a young girl. She’s still very young and playing so good in singles and doubles this year, so I’m very confident in Ash. France, Spain, Germany, Australia – we’re all world class nations. It’s going to be great for the crowds, for the city here. It’s going to be a great show of tennis.”
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2QMQhjH
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