Edmund making strides

KYLE EDMUND will be able to keep a likely defeat in perspective tomorrow when he plays his first Grand Slam singles match in two years.

After surviving three knee operations the former world No14 will take on French Open finalist Casper Ruud at the US Open, putting behind him a bleak period when his career looked under threat.

‘Right now it is so early coming back so it is important that I don’t give myself a hard time getting wrapped up in it all but seeing it for what it is and the strides that I have made to get back,’ he said.

Edmund currently has a ranking of 666, but has made the field via the limited number of privileged entries given to those on the way back from long-term injuries.

After making an appearance in the mixed doubles at Wimbledon he has been in the US playing a variety of tournaments at different levels, which have seen him win five out of nine matches.

‘Monday will be seven weeks since I’ve been here. So the matches, the practice, overall my knee has held up pretty well. It’s been up and down, some weeks felt really good, some weeks not so good.’

He feels his level has gradually improved, while still a long way off the form which in 2018 took him to the Australian Open semi-finals with one of the biggest forehands in the game. After so many struggles he has a new appreciation for his profession.

‘You don’t realise kind of what you had until you didn’t have it,’ he said.