Edmund stuns Gasquet at US Open

KYLE EDMUND hailed the greatest win of his career after he stunned 13th seed Richard Gasquet in the first round of the US Open yesterday.

Edmund was playing for the first time in the main draw at Flushing Meadows but it was the 21-year-old who looked the seasoned campaigner, thrashing Gasquet 6-2, 6-2, 6-3.

He will now face American wildcard Ernesto Escobedo, ranked 201st in the world and who reached round two after his opponent Lukas Lacko retired injured.

Gasquet, a former world No.7 and three-time grand slam semi-finalist, has been plagued by a recurring back problem this summer but the 30-yearold insisted afterwards he had not been hampered by injury.

Instead, Edmund was as bold from the baseline as his luminous yellow outfit, reeling off 40 winners to his opponent’s 13, with his booming forehand particularly destructive.

Edmund’s previous best victory, in terms of rankings at least, came at Queen’s in June against then-world No.18 Gilles Simon but Gasquet, placed three spots higher, is a bigger scalp both in terms of scale and stage.

“I played really well. On ranking I think yeah, it’s probably my best win,” Edmund said.

“And the way I went about it, the way I played, a lot of things went well. It’s definitely one of my best wins in my career.

“It’s very pleasing and very encouraging the way I played, the way I dealt with situations. “I had a good summer. I beat some good players, I beat Simon and had a good experience against Andy [at Queen’s].

“Those matches against top players give you more experience, more confidence with your game, that you are able to take it to them.”