Mac feels I’m top-10 material… I’ll show he’s right says Kyle
KYLE EDMUND is determined to prove John McEnroe right and break into the world’s top 10 in the next 12 months.
The American legend believes that if Edmund, the last Briton standing in the French Open here, does not make it into the real elite this year he certainly will next.
The sentiment was echoed by former Wimbledon winner Pat Cash, who suggested Edmund could be the one to end Rafael Nadal’s supremacy on Parisian clay.
All the compliments do not faze the solid Yorkshireman, who is fully aware that only he can make it happen.
A win today at Roland Garros over fiery Italian Fabio Fognini, the 18th seed, would do those ambitions no harm at all and confirm a steadily upward trend in Edmund’s career.
The British No1 reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open this year only to be hampered by a hip injury and lose to Maric Cilic.
He made the final in Marrakesh and the quarterfinals in Estoril and Madrid.
Along the way have come wins against David Goffin, Novak Djokovic and Grigor Dimitrov.
Edmund, now ranked 17th in the world, has progressed smoothly enough here, overcoming wild card Alex de Minaur and Marton Fucsovics, dropping only one set. But the temperamental Fognini is a different proposition altogether.
McEnroe said Edmund would “get into the top 10 in the next year, maximum, maybe less”.
Edmund said: “For someone to say that is great. Top 10 in waiting – OK, but I have to do it. It doesn’t just come. You
have to earn it, win the matches. You can’t just suddenly pop up there. I have to make it happen.
“I believe I can. I have confidence in my game, the way I’ve played against guys that are ranked at the top.
“Dimitrov and Alexander Zverev were top three in the world when I played them this year. I’ve played the No 1s in the world in Novak and Nadal.
“I’m still young at 23 but as you get older and move up the rankings top 10 is for sure a goal. It has to be.
“This would definitely be a nice win if I can do it. Fognini is a seasoned pro, has been around a long time, knows what he’s doing, has always had a top ranking. It will be a really good test. You learn a lot from those matches.”
Expectations have naturally risen for Edmund after Australia but he said: “I have to get that out of my head, because you have to do it all again. A lot of hard work went into that.”
Fognini is dangerous – he destroyed Great Britain’s hopes of making the Davis Cup semi-finals in 2014 in Naples when he thumped Andy Murray 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. A young Edmund was practising with the team that week, and coach Leon Smith remembers: “Kyle was a very established junior player but he wasn’t that far away from forcing his way into the team then.
“He should be getting to the top 10. He’s beating great players, he pushes the top guys really close and he’s ranked 17 in the world aged 23. He’s just going to get more consistent.
“If he’s fit and healthy, his consistency is going to grow and with the quality he’s putting on the court, his ranking is going to go up. It does make a difference him being so level-headed. Couple that with the confidence he now has – when he goes on the court you can see it.
“His forehand is sometimes amazing to watch. You can hear the crowd, the oohs and aahs when he lets fly on that forehand. I’m not surprised at how he is doing.” Fognini, who is under the threat of a suspension from Grand Slams after being fined for using “derogatory and misogynistic” language towards a female umpire at last year’s US Open, said: “Kyle is growing as a player.
“He is more difficult for me to beat on hard court than clay. Now he is much better from a physical point of view.”