Edmund is sure he’ll learn after doing it the hard way
FOR the third Grand Slam in a row, Kyle Edmund is the last British singles player standing.
The World No.17 beat Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics 6-0 1-6 6-2 6-3 yesterday just moments after Cameron Norrie, the only other Briton in the men’s singles draw, had been beaten 6-2 6-4 5-7 7-6 by France’s Lucas Pouille.
Edmund had followed Heather Watson on to Court 3 after the last Briton left in the women’s singles succumbed to a 3-6 4-6 defeat by Belgium’s Elise Mertens.
In his four appearances in the main draw here, Edmund has never failed to win a match and has now equalled his best run at Roland Garros, when he reached the third round last year before losing to Kevin Anderson.
The 23-year-old next takes on the Italian clay-court specialist Fabio Fognini (below), who beat Sweden’s Elias Ymer 6-4 6-1 6-2.
Edmund had won his only previous meeting with Fucsovics, at Winston-Salem in the buildup to last year’s US Open, for the loss of just three games.
A bright future had been predicted for the Hungarian when he won the Wimbledon junior title in 2010, but it took him seven years of toil, mostly on the Challenger circuit, just to reach the world’s top 100.
However, he rose to a career-high No.45 in the world rankings after winning the first senior title of his career last week in Geneva, where he became the first Hungarian to win a men’s tour title for 36 years.
Any lingering disappointment for the British fans on Court 3 over Watson’s defeat was quickly dispelled by Edmund, who took the first set in 29 minutes.
The Briton struck the ball sweetly from the start as Fucsovics struggled in the face of a barrage of crunching forehands and backhands. The Hungarian made 15 unforced errors in the set and served four double faults in his first two service games.
Fucsovics finally got on the scoreboard when he held serve in the opening game of the second set, upon which the momentum changed.
Edmund was troubled by a cut on the forefinger of his right hand which he had taped by a trainer — but only after he had dropped serve twice in a row and trailed 5-0.
Edmund held serve and had a break point in the following game, but Fucsovics held and went on to take the second set.
It was a surprising turnaround given Edmund’s supremacy in the first set, but order was restored at the start of the third as the Briton broke at the first attempt and soon led 3-0. When Fucsovics served to stay in the set at 2-5, Edmund broke again.
There were no breaks in the fourth set until Fucsovics served at 3-4, though Edmund had been forced to save three break points at 2-2. Fucsovics saved one match point, but on the second he hit a forehand beyond the baseline to give Edmund victory after two hours and 16 minutes.
“It was job done in the end,” Edmund said. “It was good to come through that by winning the third and breaking at 4-3, not letting it go to a tie-break or a fifth set.
“I made life difficult for myself in the second. Tennis is tricky in that way when you are cruising.
“He held at the start of the second, suddenly he was on the board, had a bit of confidence and ran away with the set. It was something to learn from, but I’m happy to come through.
“When I’m playing at my best, it is very good. It is definitely a high level and a high intensity. You can’t play like that all the time. That’s something you’ve got to learn. If you’re not playing your best, you’ve got to find a way to win. This year I’m doing that a lot better.”
Norrie’s debut on the centre court at any Grand Slam ended in defeat, but the 22-year-old will take plenty of encouragement from his first season on the European clay-court circuit.
Norrie, who started playing professional tennis only last summer after spending the previous three years playing college tennis in the United States, was beaten 2-6 4-6 7-5 6-7 by France’s Pouille when their match resumed on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Pouille is France’s best player, but the 24-year-old World No.16 was pushed all the way by Norrie, who failed to take a set point in the fourth set and went on to lose the tie-break 7-3.
“I fought hard and played well and I’m proud of myself,” Norrie said. “Overall it was a great experience to play on the big stage. I learned a lot from the match. “I think he was a little bit more experienced than me. He’s played on that court a bunch of times. It was great exposure and I’m going to use the experience to my advantage.” Rafael Nadal (above) had to save four break points in his opening game against Argentina’s Guido Pella, but was soon in control against the World No.78. The defending champion won 6-2 6-1 6-1, and has now won his last 27 sets here.
Dominic Thiem, the only man who has beaten Nadal on clay in the last two years, held off the challenge of Stefanos Tsitsipas, winning 6-2 2-6 6-4 6-4 in an entertaining encounter.
Tsitsipas, aged 19, has climbed 122 places in the world rankings in the last nine months and is the second youngest player in the world’s top 100 behind Denis Shapovalov, who also went out of the tournament.
The 19-year-old Canadian made 82 unforced errors in his 7-5 6-7 5-7 4-6 defeat by 22-yearold German Maximillian Marterer.
Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares got their doubles campaign off to a winning start, beating Dusan Lajovic and Florian Mayer 6-1 7-5.