Duckworth, Ebden lose at Sydney tennis

7 Jan 2013, 8:25 pm   -   Source: AAP

James Duckworth and Matthew Ebden both let good leads slip to lose their matches at the Sydney International.

The second tier of Australian men's tennis showed glimpses of promise but ultimately proved how much improvement was needed after two winnable matches turned into losses at the Sydney International on Monday.

Matthew Ebden and James Duckworth were both within a handful of points of progressing to the last 16 at Olympic Park but tightened during key moments to hand their more experienced opponents the spoils.

Ebden was up a set and a break before being run down by Spanish eighth seed Marcel Granollers 5-7 7-5 6-1 while Duckworth blew any early break in the deciding set against towering Uzbek Denis Istomin to succumb 6-7 (7-4) 6-4 7-6 (7-3).

World No.105 Ebden, who was up two sets to love against highly-rated Japanese Kei Nishikori at last year's Australian Open before going down in five, looked the goods when up 4-2 in the second set.

But the 25 year-old's game began to unravel after a botched smash when at deuce on his serve in the pivotal seventh game.

"Maybe they weren't so different," Ebden said of the losses to Granollers and Nishikori.

"The positive thing is I know I can beat those sorts of guys ... it's just about sustaining the level till the match is mine.

"Whether it is experience, I don't know. I've been around a little while.

"I'll just get back on the court with (coach) Pete (McNamara) and I'm sure he can help me with being a bit more relentless - putting the nail in, being a ferocious frontrunner rather than letting the guy back in a bit."

Ebden said a time warning given by the umpire earlier in the match had him second guessing how much time he had to serve, particularly as the clash dragged on.

"After that I was caught off guard a bit and starting to rush because the next time he (the umpire) said I'd be faulted and then I'd lose a point," Ebden said.

Wildcard Duckworth also let slip a golden opportunity to register the biggest win of his fledgling tennis career as world No.43 Istomin came home with a head of steam.

Istomin, who dumped Lleyton Hewitt from the first round of the Brisbane International last week before going down to eventual champion Andy Murray, looked on the ropes at various stages in the final set.

But the 20-year-old Duckworth couldn't consolidate his early lead, nor press through when he had other chances to snatch further breaks in the third set.

Things get considerably tougher for Istomin in the second round where he is slated to face fourth seed Fernando Verdasco.

In other men's matches Florian Mayer enjoyed a 6-1 6-2 win over Joao Sousa while French veteran Julien Benneteau had a 6-3 5-7 6-2 victory against Spain's Pablo Andujar.

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