Edmund runs out of steam
KYLE EDMUND saw his bid for glory at the Madrid Open end in the quarter-finals last night.
The British No 1 was beaten 5-7, 7-6, 6-4 by 19-year-old Canadian Denis Shapovalov.
After Shapovalov had taken control of the match in the first set, he then looked to secure a straight-sets victory.
He forced Edmund, 23, to save match point at the end of a feisty second set which also involved an incident in which the Briton was distracted by a spectator but he took the tie-break 8-6.
It was a big occasion for Edmund on the road to this summer’s Grand Slams in his first Masters 1000 quarter-final. He had beaten Novak Djokovic on his way to the last eight but his run came to an end as Shapovalov took the third set, although Edmund could make it into the world top 20 for the first time.
But Rafa Nadal will lose his world No 1 ranking after suffering a shock 7-5, 6-3 defeat by Austrian Dominic Thiem in the quarter-finals.
Thiem, who lost to Nadal in the Monte Carlo quarter-finals last month, was the last player to beat the Spaniard on clay – at last year’s Rome Masters.
Nadal had created a record of winning 50 consecutive sets on a single surface by beating Argentine Diego Schwartzman on Thursday. But this defeat means he will be replaced by Roger Federer at the top of the rankings.
Thiem, 24, broke Madrid title holder Nadal’s serve five times before sealing victory.