Stylish Kyle goes the extra mile in Monaco

ANDY MURRAY will learn the identity of his first opponent today and yesterday spent some time watching two of his Davis Cup team-mates go head to head.

This is the first year since 2006 that three British men earned direct entry into the draw in Monte Carlo, with Kyle Edmund prevailing over Dan Evans.

Edmund’s 7-5, 6-1 victory over Evans was expected given the latter’s dislike of the surface and his reward is a clash with the king of clay, Rafael Nadal.

The Spaniard has won the title here nine times – as he has done in Barcelona and at the French Open – and victory this week would make him the first man in the Open era to win an event 10 times.

But world No 45 Edmund, who recovered from a slow start after falling 4-1, 0-40 down, said he will not be intimidated, even if Nadal on clay represents the ultimate challenge.

“It’s extremely hard, it will be tough,” he said. “It will be a tough match. But the flipside is he’s not played me. I just have to go out there and give my best. It’s a good opportunity for me. I’ve never played Rafa. Winning nine times, he loves playing here.

“I played Novak [Djokovic] three times, Andy twice, [Stan] Wawrinka, [Milos] Raonic. It will be just a great experience for me.”

Evans, who has never hidden his dislike for clay, said there was little good to have come from him playing on clay.

“It’s just an exercise – a pointless one at that,” he said, stopping only to check his phone to see the time. “If you stop asking questions, yeah, I’ll be able to get the 5:40 [flight].”

As for Nadal, he is full of confidence after reaching three finals this year, including the Australian Open and Miami Masters.

A year ago, Nadal won the title here to kick-start his season and is favourite to set yet another record with a 50th clay-court title.

“I am happy with the way that I have played the first few months of the season,” he said.

“Now it is time for a historic event for everybody and for me even a little bit more.”