Kyle Edmund in the second round of the Fever-Tree Championships. ATP Queen's Club 2018
Kyle Edmund in the second round of the Fever-Tree Championships. ATP Queen's Club 2018 | (Photo by Patrik Lundin/Getty Images for LTA)

Edmund falls short against Kyrgios and now looks ahead to Eastbourne

By Jake Davies

  • Nick Kyrgios defeats Kyle Edmund [7] 7-6(3) 6-7(5) 6-3
QUEEN’S CLUB, LONDON – Nick Kyrgios backed up his win over a returning Andy Murray with a win over current British No. 1 Kyle Edmund.

 

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Nick Kyrgios def. Kyle Edmund [7] 7-6 (3) 6-7 (5) 6-3

Nick Kyrgios made it into the quarter-finals of the Fever-Tree Championships in London as he outlasted British No.1 Kyle Edmund in an engaging three-set match on the Centre Court.

The one big talking point going into this match was whether Edmund could adjust to the quick tempo that Kyrgios likes to take up on serve and also whether Edmund’s serving could match what the Australian usually displays in the big matches.

The match was largely dominated by serve for the whole of the first set. No player managed to generate a single break point, but it was Kyrgios whose quality shone through in the first set tiebreak. The Australian No. 1 built up a 4-1 lead in the tiebreak and when he gets into those advantageous positions in close stages of matches, he can be very hard to stop.

The positives for Edmund was that he did not look out of place against an in-form Kyrgios, who had made the semi-finals in Stuttgart last week and picked up his first win over Andy Murray in the first round of this event in Queen’s. Edmund faced a bit of pressure on serve at 4-4 and 5-5 in the second set, where he saved three break points, but Kyrgios struggled to really bring his best return game in the big points of the second set and he got punished in another tiebreak. Kyrgios was searching for answers, wondering how he got pulled into a 3rd set, but he had to regroup fast against a resilient Edmund.

Nick Kyrgios in the second round of the Fever-Tree Championships, ATP Queen's Club 2018
Nick Kyrgios in the second round of the Fever-Tree Championships, ATP Queen’s Club 2018 | (GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images)

Ultimately, the match was decided by fine margins, but it was the serving display of Kyrgios that really made that bit of a difference. When Kyrgios is serving at 71% and winning 63 of 72 points on his first serve, it is hard to really put your stamp on the match, because he can win so many cheap and easy points on that single shot. One break in the fourth game of the third set was all that Kyrgios needed to win the match in three sets, but Edmund can move onto Eastbourne with positive vibes and with a greater feeling about his game than this time last year on the grass.

Edmund’s in a steadier place and there is more stability to his game on the grass. He goes into the event in Eastbourne next week as one of the top seeds, so there will be lots of attention on the British No.1 as many look ahead to Wimbledon with the hope that Edmund can string some big wins together and make a push for the second week for the first time in his career thus far.

The Nature Valley International at Eastbourne takes place between 25-30 June.

 

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