ROUND-UP Edmund wins again

British No 1 continues his magnificent form in Rome

KYLE Edmund maintained his fine clay court season form with a 6-2 7-6 (7/3) second-round victory over Frenchman Lucas Pouille at Italian Open in Rome.

The Briton defeated Novak Djokovic and David Goffin on his way to the quarter-finals in Madrid last week and that form moved the 23-year-old into the top 20 of the ATP rankings on Monday.

The world No 19 needed three sets to see off qualifier Malek Jaziri in the first round but a dominant serving performance, where he offered just one break point, ensured a smoother path into the last 16 where he will face second seed Alexander Zverev.

Edmund broke the world No 16 in the opening game of the match before moving 2-0 up with a hold to love to gain a stranglehold of the match.

The duo shared the next four games but Edmund secured his second break of the set in the seventh game before serving out to take the opener.

In the second set, Edmund raced out of the blocks in the tie-break to move 4-0 ahead and it proved more than enough to defeat Pouille.