Edmund so close to dream moment
KYLE EDMUND says he is living the dream as he prepares to face Marin Cilic tomorrow for a place in the Australian Open final.
Edmund reached his first Grand Slam semi-final by beating world No 3 Grigor Dimitrov yesterday.
He was stronger than Dimitrov when he needed to be and braver when it mattered. And he could not be happier.
“I’m loving it right now, just the way I’m playing,” he said. “I’m 23 years old, my first Grand Slam semi-final.
“It was the first time I played on one of the biggest courts in the world and to beat a quality player like Grigor…
“The big dream is to be in Grand Slam finals. Obviously a dream is to win them.”
With a forehand that has been described by John McEnroe as one of the best in the world, Edmund let fly with piledrivers on big points and played with the confidence of a man destined for big things.
“I always believed,” he said. “I know my game. I know I have a big shot. As I get older, wiser and more experienced, I’m learning how to use it more effectively.”
WHO DARES WINS:
HE who dares, wins, and hidden behind Kyle Edmund’s tall frame and quiet demeanour is a man who dares.
Yesterday he dared Grigor Dimitrov to prove he was the better player, to prove why he is the world No3. And Dimitrov could not. Edmund won 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
It was Edmund who showed he was the man who truly believed he could reach the semi-finals, and it was Edmund who showed he had nerves of steel to close out the biggest match of his life.
With Marin Cilic to play tomorrow rather than Rafa Nadal, Edmund must also be feeling that the fates believe he can reach his first Grand Slam final.
Cilic beat a hobbled Nadal 3-6, 6-3, 6-7, 6-2, 2-0, the Spaniard finally throwing in the towel to a right leg injury that had him limping through the fourth set.
“They’re great feelings,” Edmund said. “You don’t play in the semi-finals of a Grand Slam every day, or a quarters like today.
“At the end, when that ball was out, it was such a good feeling for me knowing that I’d won the match and was through to my first semis. I was really happy with it. I’m trying to enjoy it as much as
❑ CAROLINE WOZNIACKI is two matches away from a first Grand Slam title after defeating Carla Suarez Navarro 6-0, 6-7, 6-2 in the quarter-finals.
She next faces unseeded Belgian Elise Mertens, who took full advantage of fourth seed Elina Svitolina’s fitness problems to win 6-4, 6-0 and reach her first major semi-final.
possible.” It was not the greatest match Edmund has ever played but it was, by far, the most important.
The fact he dealt with the occasion, the pressure and the nerves, and dealt with them far more effectively than his more experienced opponent, spoke volumes about the progress the world No49 has made in the past few months.
Apart from a dip in the second set when neither man played particularly well, Edmund was the mentally stronger. When he dropped serve in the first and the fourth sets, there was no panic, no hint of being thrown off course.
He merely got back to work, played to his strengths and dragged the momentum back in his favour.
It was a mature and brave performance, and one which had Tim Henman grinning from ear to ear in the posh seats of the President’s Box.
“The impressive thing that we’ve witnessed this year is how he is coming through the tight matches,” Henman said. “If you look at his deciding-set record last year it was fairly poor for a player of his ability, and coming into this match I would have said he’s got nothing to lose.
“But then when you get up two sets to one with a break then you do have something to lose. He looks much more mature on the court, it’s a big occasion. He is fit and strong.
“The way he finished that match off will give him so much confidence: 30-all, a big ace up the middle. That last point was a great rally, it was really impressive.”
Edmund’s new coach, Fredrik ‘Fidde’ Rosengren, was up and down off his seat in the players’ box like a jack-in-the-box for most of the two hours and 49 minutes it took his charge to win. And when he did, Rosengren shed a tear or two. The Swede does nothing by halves and having committed himself to Edmund’s future, he clearly lives and breathes every point the Briton plays. It is that sort of passion that Mats Wilander, the former world No1 and now TV commentator, feels will be the making of Edmund.
“Fidde is a great coach, an unbelievable coach, but a much better human being than a great coach, for sure,” said Wilander.
“He cares, he’s passionate, and he’s one of those coaches who takes a player closer to his potential. That’s why Magnus Norman got to No 2 in the world – he had no business being No2 in the world, or so we thought in Sweden. And suddenly there he was.
“I played with Fidde since I was seven years old. He’s good at making players take responsibility for their decisions. Pushing them emotionally, pushing them a little bit harder. With Kyle, that could be the difference. Could be a couple of the forehands he hits too! The fight is everything for Fidde. That’s what Kyle needs.”
Now what Edmund needs is a route map past Cilic and his thundering serve.
The Croat is the world No6 and a former US Open champion – the big man is a mean foe. But he is not a living legend like Nadal.
That may let the Yorkshireman breathe a little easier when he walks on court tomorrow.
Henman certainly thinks so. “Kyle definitely has a shot,” said the ex-British No1. Yesterday Edmund dared and Edmund won. Tomorrow we will find out if he can do it again.