Edmund has room to improve TENNIS
TIM HENMAN has told Kyle Edmund that he needs to start winning more matches when he is not playing perfectly.
The British No1 reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open last January and won his first ATP event at Antwerp in October. Now at a career-high world No14, the Yorkshireman will bid to crack the top 10 and make another run at the Grand Slams in 2019.
Edmund is training in Florida to prepare for the new season, and former Wimbledon semi-finalist Henman said: “You have to keep improving. The exciting thing about Kyle’s game is that there are a lot of areas he can improve on. Changing his technique – with the way he moves his feet – has improved the consistency and power of his serve.
“His movement and his defensive skills can definitely improve. But if he can win more matches when he’s not playing particularly well, that will define him as a player.
“You probably play about 100 matches in a year. You’re going to play 10 matches where you’re going to play brilliantly and you’re going to win, it doesn’t really matter what your opponent does.
“You’re going to play 10 matches where you play horrifically and you’re going to lose, but you have 80 matches in the middle. They define you and it’s what percentage you can win of those. The very best win a lot of them – and that’s where Kyle can make improvements.
“Going down to Australia and having been a semi-finalist last year, there’s a certain amount of pressure and expectation that goes with that, but those are all the challenges of being a professional player.”
Andy Murray, now down to world No 257, is planning his latest comeback at the Brisbane International at the end of the month and then play the Australian Open a year after his hip surgery.
Former world No 2 Tommy Haas, who had surgery for the same problem in February 2010, said: “It took me 14 or 15 months to sort of feel like I was OK to go out and compete again
“And then it still obviously took me a few months to really feel comfortable again and not try to compensate for the hip with other parts of the body, like the lower back.
“I follow Andy on Instagram and social media and it looks like he’s putting in the hard yards to get ready for the Australian Open. I wouldn’t be surprised by next summer if he’s playing some of his best tennis again.”