THE DULL ENGLAND CLUB
THE Yanks have a name for it. Lights out tennis they call it.
It’s supposed to be the sort of stuff you can’t take your eyes off. A kind of crash-bang-wallop approach to winning matches which involves hitting the court like a raging tsunami and smacking anything that moves in the general direction of Kingdom Come.
Well this year Wimbledon is witnessing the birth of a brand new version now that Kyle Edmund has emerged from Andy Murray’s shadow as the nation’s last remaining hope at this year’s championships.
Edmund’s tennis could switch the light out too. Just for very different reasons.
Yesterday the 23-year-old British No.1 walked out onto Centre Court and, without wishing to seem unkind, he hit the place like a Temazepam.
That’s not to say Britain’s new No.1 can’t play. Of course he can.
But he’s going to have to summon up every last bit of talent in his kitbag tomorrow afternoon if he is to survive a third-round showdown with the mighty Novak Djokovic after taking care of American Bradley Klahn in three fairly uninspiring sets yesterday evening, coming through 6-4 7-6(0) 6-2.
He said: “First of all I’m just really happy to get the win. It was only my second time playing on Centre Court and the first time I’ve won.
“You grow up watching Centre Court and always dream of playing on there. To win your first one is something you’ll always remember.
“In terms of the match I broke in the first game which really helped to ease the nerves and then closed out the set by holding serve.
“But I thought the second set was a bit tentative from both of us. It was first-strike tennis, there weren’t many rallies and it was a bit scrappy BY KEITH JACKSON AT SW19 at times. But I played a great tie-break and after that I really relaxed.”
Technically sound, Edmund has a consistent, thumping serve, moves comfortably around the grass and is also in possession of a forehand which is so powerful and dangerous it’s a wonder he gets it through security every morning into the grounds of the All England Club.
These are the weapons which have enabled him to carve his way through the world rankings since the turn of the year, to overtake Murray on the way and then turn the Scot over at Eastbourne just the other week.
And they were all evident again at various points of this straightsets win over Klahn as Edmund booked up a third-round crack at another former champ, Djokovic.
So yes Edmund’s got game all right. It’s just if anyone branded it ‘glaze over tennis’ then he couldn’t really complain. Of course he’s perfectly entitled to go about his business in whichever way he sees fit. He cannot be expected to be someone or something he is not.
Also, the more he gets a feel for this place and its crowds the more he is likely to flourish and revel in the attention. He has plenty of years yet in which to make some sort of connection.
The trouble is he’ll almost certainly need every single one of them on his side tomorrow when he is confronted by Djokovic. The reluctant Edmund has to find a way of using their goodwill to his advantage as all of