Kyle aims to end big year on a high
KYLE EDMUND is targeting a final flourish to his best year as he prepares for a hectic four-week spell, starting with the US Open.
The British No1 faces Italian Paolo Lorenzi at Flushing Meadows today as he looks to banish memories of being forced to retire during his third-round tie with Denis Shapovalov last year.
Then he is set to feature in two team events with Great Britain’s Davis Cup World Group play-off against Uzbekistan, followed by the Laver Cup in Chicago.
The 23-year-old kicked off 2018 by reaching the Australian Open semi-finals, reached his first Tour final in Marrakech and took on Novak Djokovic on Centre Court in the fourth round of Wimbledon.
Edmund does not want his year to peter out and said: “After the US Open it’s like the home straight and it’s important to finish strongly and not let it fade away.
“I’ve had the best year of my career. The key to being a good tennis player is to have a consistent year. It’s the last push towards the end of the year with the two team competitions. I want to play Davis Cup but it depends how I do.
“It’s very exciting to be named in the Laver Cup team. It doesn’t have the history of the Davis Cup but it’s a level of competition where my team-mates are all top 10, so it shows the high standard.”
Edmund is first up of the four Britons in action on day one, with Andy Murray second at Louis Armstrong Stadium, and the Scot only has to look across the net to put his hip injury into perspective.
Opponent James Duckworth has gone under the knife five times in 18 months and feared his career was over. The 26-year-old Australian, ranked No748 in the world, said: “Andy has only had one surgery but I’ve had five. I’ve been on a rough journey with operations – three on my foot, one on my shoulder and one on my elbow – since the start of 2017.”
Cameron Norrie also faces an Australian in Jordan Thompson, while Heather Watson plays Russian Ekaterina Makarova.
Johanna Konta meets Caroline Garcia of France tomorrow.