Busan, South Korea, 21 May 2018 | tennis.com.au

Matthew Ebden will rise to his highest ranking in four years after claiming an ATP Challenger title in South Korea.

The 30-year-old Western Australian’s ranking is projected to improve to No.73, up 12 places after defeating Canadian Vasek Pospisil 7-6(4) 6-1 in the Busan Open Challenger final.

https://twitter.com/ATPChallenger/status/998190294255460355

Edben is the sixth Australian to win an ATP Challenger title this season, following John Millman (with two titles), Jordan Thompson, Jason Kubler, Alex Bolt and Marc Polmans.

It is a positive sign for Ebden, as he continues to make steady progress in his return from a knee injury that saw his ranking plummet to No.699 in January 2017.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if my best tennis years are ahead of me but I am experienced enough to know that you can’t take anything for granted – in sport or in life,” Ebden recently told Australian Tennis Magazine.

“My goal is to become the best that I can ultimately be, whether that’s (ranked world No.) 45, it’s 27, 15 or eight. We’ll see… nothing’s a given but there’s plenty of opportunity.”

Ebden returns to the ATP Tour this week in Lyon, where he faces American Taylor Fritz in the opening round. Millman is the eighth seed in the tournament and opens his campaign against Argentine Nicolas Kicker tonight (from 7pm AEST).