Kyle steps up to down Djokovic
KYLE EDMUND showed for the first time he is strong enough to carry the hopes of the nation with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 win over Novak Djokovic yesterday.
His win in Madrid came on the day it emerged that former British No1 Andy Murray’s rehabilitation from a hip injury has taken something of a setback, his training schedule having been on hold for the past two weeks.
With time ticking down to Wimbledon, it has to put the 2013 and 2016 champion’s hopes of playing at SW19 this summer in serious doubt.
Djokovic has also struggled in the past 12 months with long-term injuries but had seemed to have answered a lot of the question marks over his ability to still dominate world tennis with a convincing win over Kei Nishikori in the first round of the Madrid Open.
But with a relentless show of power and a growing maturity, Edmund exposed the mental uncertainties that still reside in the Djokovic game.
It took one hour and 41 minutes to secure one of the biggest triumphs of his career over a player against whom he had previously failed to win a set.
Victory will almost certainly take Edmund into the world’s top 20 next week. In the immediate future it earns him a third-round clash with David Goffin after the Belgian’s 7-5, 6-3 victory over Robin Haase.
“It was a great experience to beat Novak because I’ve lost to him three times,” said Edmund. “He’s a legend of the game, so your first match when you share the court with him is an experience.
“But now, especially after reaching the semis of the Australian Open, it’s time to try to beat these guys.”
Edmund broke in the very first game and with both struggling to serve into the sun initially, it was the Briton who kept his composure when it mattered to edge out the first set.
In the second set, there were signs of the old Djokovic – the unforced error tally dwindled, his accuracy was cranked up.
Pure guts, in the end, got Edmund through. At 2-2 and 40-love down in the third set, he won the next five points to swing things his way in the heat. Then Djokovic, having earned a break point himself at 3-4, suddenly went long to slump further.
Edmund, serving for the match, was in no mood to let it go and secured victory when Djokovic, a three-time winner of Wimbledon, returned a second serve long.
“After Australia I got a bit ill and didn’t have a great run of results until I reached my first final in Morocco, so it’s nice to beat a top player like Novak,” he said.
“It was a goal to get in the top 20 and I thought there was no reason why I couldn’t,” said Edmund. “But you know the way the tennis world works – you reach a target but it doesn’t stop there, others follow.”
Djokovic said: “There are obvious things that are not working well for me.”