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Matthew Ebden vs Alexandr Dolgopolov: Australian Open live scores

17th January, 2018
Start time: Around 8:30pm (AEDT)
Court: Margaret Court Arena
TV: Live, Seven
Online: Live, 7Tennis app
Betting: Dolgopolov $1.52, Ebden $2.60
Overall record: Never played

Matthew Ebden last 10 matches: won 8, lost 2
Alexandr Dolgopolov last 10 matches: won 5, lost 5
Matthew Ebden faces a tough first round match at the Australian Open. (Image via Wikipedia)
Expert
17th January, 2018
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Matthew Ebden will look to continue playing above his ranking and pull off another upset in the second round of the Australian Open when he takes on the dangerous Alexandr Dolgopolov. Join The Roar for live scores from around 8:30pm (AEDT).

The Australian has been on a charge over the last 12 months and it’s showing at his home grand slam as he came away with an upset win over seeded big-serving American John Isner in the first round.

With the pressure on, the home-crowd favourite continued a run of form which saw him beat Frances Tiafoe in straight sets at the Brisbane International, before taking Nick Kyrgios all the way in a second-round exit.

After splitting the first two sets with Isner, Ebden put the foot down, his court movement able to negate the power of Isner as he took the final two sets 6-3, 6-3.

Court movement and coverage for Ebden will again be a key in this second-round match, with expectations that he will again struggle to match it power-wise with the Ukrainian.

Apart from prizemoney, ranking points and performing well in his home grand slam, Ebden also has a Davis Cup campaign kicking off in a few weeks. With Australia unsure of who will join Nick Kyrgios and John Peers in the team, Ebden will have that in the back of his mind as he pushes for selection in Lleyton Hewitt’s side.

Dolgopolov, who is currently ranked 37 in the world and only just missed out on a seeding for the Australian Open, had a solid start to the year, but still not up to his best.

Losses to Kyrgios and Fabio Fognini ended his campaigns in both Brisbane and Sydney early, but he was dominant in the first round of the grand slam, knocking Andreas Haider-Maurer over in straight sets.

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He was barely challenged after a first set tie-break, breaking serve with ease. It’s something Ebden will need to be careful of tonight and it may force the Aussie to take a few more risks with his serve, not being able to rely on errors up the other end as he did against Isner.

The pair have never played before this meeting and the winner will face either Diego Schwartzman or Christopher Ruud in the third round.

Prediction
Dolgopolov is certainly the better of the two on paper, but tennis isn’t played on paper. Ebden has been in fine form and with a seeded scalp already to his name and a Davis Cup to push for, he will qualify for the third round in a hard-fought battle.

Ebden in five sets

Be sure to join The Roar for live scores of this match from around 8:30pm (AEDT) or at the conclusion of Alize Cornet versus Julia Goerges on Margaret Court Arena and don’t forget to add a comment below.

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