The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Edmund impresses in win over Haase
Kyle Edmund opened his US Open campaign in impressive fashion yesterday with a straight-sets firstround victory over seeded Dutchman Robin Haase.
British No 2 Edmund, full of confidence after reaching the semifinals at the Winston-Salem Open last week, won 6-3 7-5 6-3 in under two hours and will now play American Steve Johnson for a place in the third round.
Edmund, who controlled the match from the back of the court, used his booming forehand to pummel Haase into submission and broke his opponent’s serve on five occasions.
The Briton clinched the decisive first break of the match in the eighth game of the opening set to lead 5-3 before serving out to win it 6-3 in 37 minutes.
Edmund was first to break serve again in the second set to open up a 5-3 lead and – although Haase broke the Briton for the only time in the next game and then held to level it up at 5-5 – the Briton did not falter.
He broke Haase again immediately after and stayed on the front foot to seal the second set 7-5 after 50 minutes.
Haase’s disappointment was compounded when he lost serve for a fourth time in the opening game of the third set and Edmund sealed victory by breaking again at 5-3 up after the Dutchman double-faulted on his first match point.
Because he made a late decision to enter that event, he had to go through qualifying, and this was Edmund’s eighth match in 10 days.
He drank a can of Coke during the contest against Haase to boost his flagging energy levels but still had too much for the Dutchman in what was a mature, controlled performance.
He said of his unusual sustenance: “It worked today. I’ve played a lot recently so it was just to get myself going.
“The challenge was always just to keep the intensity high because I felt pretty tired. I felt when I needed to be right on it and play good points I did and I thought I managed his game style pretty well.
“It is a good problem at the end of the day because I guess I was winning. I knew I could still win today.”
Edmund will have a gentle hit today and prioritise rest ahead of his second-round clash with American Steve Johnson, who he beat in a close match in Winston-Salem.
Meanwhile, two-times US Open finalist David Ferrer crashed out to Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-1, while there were wins for Wimbledon runner-up Marin Cilic – the No 5 seed – Jo Wilfried-Tsonga, Florian Mayer, veteran Kevin Anderson, Benoit Paire and John Isner.