New Delhi: Aditya Mehta pulled off one of the biggest wins of his professional career by ousting 2002 World champion Peter Ebdon 4-3 in a nail-biting first round match of the Indian Open World Snooker ranking tournament here Monday.
Mehta, the 27-year old from Mumbai, kept his nerve after blowing a 2-0 and 3-1 lead and enjoying a 40-point advantage in the fifth, while Ebdon, ranked 22nd, leveled at 3-3.
However, Mehta, who had beaten No.8 Ricky Walden a fortnight ago in a qualifying event, took the seventh for the match with a brilliant 127, his second century of the day following the 122 in the fourth frame.
Mehta, playing a solid game marked by precision potting and astute safety play, had the 43-year old London-born, Budapest resident Ebdon, who has not been in best of form this season, on the ropes jumping to a 2-0 lead and then moving to 3-1 on the back of the 122 break.
It took all of Ebdon's vast experience to claw his way back into the match even as Mehta turned error-prone, losing frames when in front as the Englishman caught up at 3-3.
