I will be the first to admit I didn’t know much about Kyle Edmund. Despite my specialty in British Tennis I have to confess he passed me by. I think it was all the excitement from Marcus Willis and Murray’s second Wimbledon title that left me on a come down and miss the Davis Cup triumph. But when I was perusing the news and looking at the surprise GB victory, I fell in love. Not with Kyle though.
His forehand is a thing of beauty. I want to take it out for a nice dinner and introduce it to my parents. Marry it after a whirlwind romance and settle down with a family, living happily ever after. His winners made stand up with delight. I thought clay was a difficult surface to get past you opponent, but Edmund’s forehand were lightning never looked like slowing down when bouncing. Who was this ginger wizard! Why did you not know him Joshua!
When I first googled him I saw he was born in South Africa. Of course, I thought, England can’t produce a great tennis player, it is like Jo Konta all over again. But reading deeper I saw he moved to Yorkshire at three and only picked up a racquet when he was ten. It was at one of David Lloyds money making centres of improvement, where he started even though he excelled at Cricket and Swimming. He was lucky to have wealthy parents who were able to able bankroll his younger days until the LTA took over. They like to make sure people know that Edmund is one of the first pros in a while with a Made in Britain label, so I don’t think I can reprimand him for his birthplace!
He turned pro in 2012 and won some ITF Futures tournament including one in Birmingham, Alabama. He has worked his way up with a steady trajectory and his inclusion and subsequent performances in the Davis Cup have shown he has a bright future. The captain of Britain, Leon Smith, said about his rise ‘A lot of his game has improved so much. His backhand is rock solid now, both on the cross and down the line. His serve is getting better all the time and his forehand is just so huge,’. This was on show at the GB vs Serbia matchup in Belgrade where Edmund beat Serb Janko Tipsarevic, who was stunned by this young boy’s forehand. Despite saving himself for the Olympics Andy Murray flew out to support the team in a show of solidarity and enjoyed watching the GB triumph without him. He has long been helping Edmund and admits to his suprise at what is possible for the Yorkshireman. “He is a lot better than a lot of people thought he was going to be, myself included. There’s no reason why he can’t get right up to the top of the game” he said.
One of the most exciting aspect of all this is Edmund’s proficiency and love for clay and foreign courts. Unlike many English sportsman who struggle on an international stage Edmund looks comfortable when travelling and I can’t remember having a English man who excelled on clay. Gio Muratore editor of Betting Tip Stars said “It is not only great for tennis but British tennis to have a player from the smal island excelling on clay”. I think it could be his surface. He showed off that hard skill of sliding while hitting and made it look easy, he got the spin when he wanted and the slower surface hides his weaker weapons, like the serve and backhand. I love clay matches, but I have never really had anyone to root for and while the perennial argument goes on whether Murray is Scottish or British, Edmund could be the first Englishman to make mark since Tim Henman. I don’t think he has what it takes to get to Murray’s level, he went out this year at Wimbledon in the first round for instance. But his best performances in majors both came in the French Open at the second round stage and it was 2015 and 2016. He has beaten some players who have gone far at Roland Garros and with Nadal a waning power, I think Edmund could mine some gold in this area. Meanwhile I will be pretending to be him on the courts this summer and spank some forehands past my dad!
SPANKED!