It’s the present versus future as Andy faces Kyle
The past and present of British men’s tennis will meet the longer-term future today when Andy Murray takes on Kyle edmund in the quarter-finals of the Aegon Championships.
Murray got through at Queen’s Club yesterday with a 6-3, 6-4 win over British No 2 Aljaz Bedene, while the 21-year-old from Yorkshire received a walkover when French opponent Paul- henri Mathieu pulled out with a wrist injury.
It will be the first time since the 2002 Adelaide Open that two Brits (Tim henman and Greg Rusedski) have played each other in an ATP Tour quarter-final, while Bedene was the first GB opponent Murray had faced in nearly 10 years.
This gives a somewhat more realistic take on the state of the elite game in the UK over the past decade than the triumph in the Davis Cup last year.
Brit versus Brit is more likely to happen now, with Murray, Bedene — a UK citizen after moving to hertfordshire from Slovenia eight years ago — edmund and Dan evans inside the top 100.
edmund will now break into the top 70 and Murray can imagine what it will be like for him, having played henman for the first time in 2005, when he won in three sets.
‘It felt very strange,’ recalled Murray, who followed up his 83-minute win over Bedene with a further practice session.
‘Tim was someone I looked up to when I was growing up and I always watched. Then you’re standing on the other side of the net to him and it’s a bit surreal. I was up 6-2, 5-3 and then coming to serve for the match I felt nervous. It was different to any of the other players I played at that stage.
‘Kyle’s got a big game, he’s a strong guy and his mind is focused on tennis. Based on this year he’s in the top 50 and there’s no reason why he can’t get into the top 20, top 30 in the world and from there you never know.’
Meanwhile, for the first time in nearly 50 years the BBC will not have a monopoly on broadcasting Wimbledon in the UK this summer, and will share the two singles finals with eurosport.
The move is believed to be primarily part of a deal with eurosport’s owners, American giants Discovery, connected to the coverage of the Olympics. Discovery hold the rights to the Olympics, with the BBC their free- to- air partner. The sharing of the finals may give the BBC some bargaining power when it comes to deciding what they can show during the Games. eurosport will also show a nightly highlights programme during the Wimbledon fortnight at 10pm. The BBC will remain the primary broadcaster of SW19. Johanna Konta is through to the second round of the Aegon Classic after emerging from three days of rain delays to beat Misaki Doi in straight sets. The British No 1 was taken to a tiebreak in the opening set after wasting a first-game break of serve but then cantered through the second 6-1. The world No 19 will next face Belgian Yanina Wickmayer.