It isn’t very often that a quarter-final loss in an ATP tournament makes somebody a winner, unless that person is named Kyle Edmund.
This week the highly talked about 21-year-old has lived up to the hype. A maiden win over top-20 player Gilles Simon followed by an admirable battle against world No.2 Andy Murray has certainly won over the crowd at The Queen’s Club in London. His speedy serve combined with a superb forehand is one that promises a lot for the future and fellow team mate Murray agrees.
“He’s always played well on the clay and the slower hard courts, but if he is now starting to play better on the quicker courts, that’s a good sign.” The world No.2 said.
“There are a lot of good things, a lot of positive things in his game right now.”
Edmund’s performance at the Aegon Championships is expected to elevate him inside the world’s top-70 for the first time in his career. Things are certainly going well for the British No.3, however, there is still room for more improvement for the two-time junior doubles grand slam champion.
During the closing stages of his three sets encounter against Murray, it was evident that the Brit has no solution to Murray’s sudden injection of intensity as his physicality wobbled. It is not a criticism of Edmund’s performance, but more of an observation for him to work on. Regardless of the required improvements, the 21-year-old leaves London pleased with his performance.
“I was still trying to play my game and put it on the court,” Edmund said about the third set against Murray.
“Overall, I was happy with the performance I put on the court today.”
The route to the top might come slower for Edmund than fellow rising stars Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev, but it doesn’t mean that it will never happen. This season he has a 20-10 win-loss on the tour (not counting withdrawals) and has won two Challenger titles. In addition, Edmund has notched up two ATP quarter-final appearances as well as his maiden main draw masters win in Miami.
“I found my level has been a lot more consistent this year, made a lot of gains in my game,” he said about his season so far.
“The good thing for me is that I was playing a lot this year and winning a lot.”
With a new confidence, a new ranking high and a growing fan base, Edmund have reassured British tennis that the men’s game is in safe hands when Murray hangs up his racket. The question now for Edmund isn’t about ability, it is now about consistency. If he can maintain this, then expect him to feature beyond the quarter-finals at future ATP Tournaments.
Kyle Edmund Facts
Age: 21
Titles: 5 Challenger (including two this year)
Best grand slam performance: French Open R2 (2015, 2016)
Random fact: On the day of his quarter-final encounter with Andy Murray, Edmund was woken up at 6:30am by a man delivering a dishwasher – the perils of being a grown-up!
