Sydney, 8 January 2011 | AAP

Surprise Brisbane International quarter-finalist Matt Ebden has been awarded a wildcard entry into the Sydney International.

The Australian world No.196 Ebden received the third and final wildcard into the main draw of the event, which starts on Sunday at the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre.

The 23-year-old battled through qualifying in Brisbane last week and defeated eighth seed Denis Istomin in the main draw on Thursday, his best showing at an ATP World Tour event.

“It is a great relief not to have to qualify for the event after all the matches I had in Brisbane,” Ebden said.

“It will give me a couple of days to rest and get ready for some tough matches in Sydney.

“The field there speaks for itself and there are no easy matches.”