Kyle Edmund has shot back into the limelight once again after defeating Andy Murray in the final of the Tie Break Tens exhibition to claim the $250,000 prize.
In the new event, players battle it out in a super tiebreaker with the first to get to ten points with a lead of at least two points. If the tiebreaker is level at 9-9, play will continue until a player wins by two points. The tournament featured past and present players, including John McEnroe, Andy Murray and David Ferrer.
Despite losing his opening group match to Murray, Edmund qualified for the last four on points. In the semifinals, he defeated former world No.25 Xavier Malisse (10-4) to set up a rematch against Murray. Despite being ranked 100 placed below the British no. 1, Edmund produced some stunning forehand shots along with a series of aces to cruise to the title and double his year earnings. This year, Edmund has won three Challenger titles to bring his total prize money on the ATP Tour to $205,654, which is almost $45,000 less than he won during this weekends exhibition event.
The victory by Edmund was unexpected but not surprising to those following his game. The 20-year-old first shown promise throughout his junior career when he climbed to 8th in the world back in 2012. The South African born Brit greatest junior success occurred in the doubles when he won two Grand Slam junior tournaments with Portugal’s Frederico Ferreira Silva (US Open 2012 and French Open 2013).
Shortly after his French Open doubles triumph, Edmund achieved his first significant milestone on the pro circuit. After receiving a wild card into the 2013 Aegon International, he stunned French qualifier Kenny de Schepper to grab his first pro victory on the ATP World Tour. The Brit also produced an impressive display in the second round against second seed Gilles Simon, before losing in two tie-breaks. Edmund made his Grand Slam debut the same year, losing to Jerzy Janowicz in the first round at Wimbledon. He finished 2013 ranked 376th in the world with two Futures titles from Italy and America.
Kicking-off 2014 Edmund reached three consecutive finals on the Futures tour, winning titles in America and Croatia. As he gradually rose up the ranking, Edmund began to feature more prominently on the Challenger tour with a duo of semifinal appearances in Portoroz and Astana in July. His most significant achievement of 2014 didn’t occur until his final tournament. At the Yokohama Challenger he stunned Japanese second seed Go Soeda to reach his maiden Challenger final, losing in straight sets to Josh Millman to end the year at 193 in the world.
Continuing the upwards trend the 20-year-old has enjoyed the best season in his young career during 2015. This season Edmund has achieved a win-loss of 34-16 (68% winning rate) after winning three Challenger titles in Hong Kong, USA and Argentina. At the French Open he claimed his first Grand Slam main draw victory against French veteran Stéphane Robert. Unfortunately for Edmund he was forced to retire ahead of his second round clash against Nick Kyrgios due to injury. The triumphs on the tour has elevated Edmund inside the top 100 for the first time in his career to 99th in August. The final accomplishment of Edmund’s 2015 season was at the Davis Cup, where he became only the sixth man in history to make his tournament debut in the final of the event. The Brit took two sets off world No.16 David Goffin before losing in five sets. Despite the loss, Great Britain still won the Davis Cup for the first time since 1936 after beating Belgium 3-1.
Reflecting on the series of achievements, Edmund’s recent victory over Murray is clearly less of a shock than what some may assume. The recent performance from the 20-year-old has earned the admiration of 7-time Grand Slam champion John McEnroe.
“I liked what I saw, he’s made some great progress. He’s a better athlete than I thought, his backhand was more solid. He’s got a huge forehand, he pops that serve and he rose to the occasion. He’s got huge upside.” The former world No.1 said.
Ending 2015 with an extra $250,000 bonus is a significant boost to Edmund’s training plans in an increasingly expensive sport. Many people argue that when world No.2 Murray eventually hangs up his racket, British men’s tennis will decline. Fortunately, there are players such as Edmund on the tour to challenge these perceptions.
