Edmund ready to defy his SW19 statistics and show his game is suited to grass
THE statistics hardly suggest that Kyle Edmund is about to give the British public a new name to cry out from Murray Mound in 10 days’ time.
The world No17 has just one win at Wimbledon in six attempts, hardly indicating he is set to step into the breach with a still-ailing Andy Murray u n l i ke l y to g ive the home crowd something to cheer about.
But the signs from Queen’s alone — where Edmund, like Murray, was vanquished in t h re e s e t s by Ni c k Kyrgios — suggest the 23-year-old is about to turn the corner on grass.
Kyrgios, not known to flatter his rivals unnecessarily, believes Edmund has an opportunity to ruffle a few feathers at the All England Club when the tournament begins a week on Monday.
Asked of his potential threat, Kyrgios said: “Massive. I think he’s really good on grass. He serves well, his backhand has improved a lot, he’s got a good forehand, he returns well.
“I think he can do well, for sure. I was pretty impressed with his grass-court tennis to d ay. I wa s a c t u a l ly re a l ly surprised. He handled the low balls well, volleyed well, sliced well. I would definitely put in him that category [of a threat].”
Following his 7-6, 6-7, 6-3 defeat, Edmund returned to court for a straight-sets doubles victory with Neil Skupski over Kyrgios and his Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt, but it was scant consolation.
With the size of his serve and forehand, it remains a mystery why Alex Ward a year ago is the solitary Wimbledon singles scalp to Edmund’s name.
But he has spent more time than usual on grass this summer, practising with Murray, among others, at both Queen’s and Wimbledon — as much to aid the former world No1’s comeback as his own game — and backs Kyrgios’ sentiment that he could be a contender.
“I think I’m improving on grass,” he said. “My serve is better, I am able to hold better in the service games, and to be a good grass-court player you really have to serve well and return well. I think I’m improving in general. It’s always a work in progress.”
The Wimbledon public have had plenty to cheer in recent years, with Murray having reached the quarterfinals or better every single year for the past decade and Johanna Konta a surprise quarter-finalist a year ago.
And Edmund is not unduly concerned that being the highest-ranked British player in either the men’s or women’s draw will come with an added weight of expectation.
“All the time I try to have high expectations and also realistic expectations, so it’s one of them where I want to obviously do well on the whole,” he said.
“Of course, playing in Britain, there is always a little bit more expectation, more attention on you, more off-court commitments to do, but that’s just natural for anyone who’s from that country.”