Just woken up here in Brazil. It's 6am here and had feared the worst after the strangest dream in which Kyle had lost in straight sets but had made it through to the SF of the Snooker World Championship at the Crucible. Any dream analyzers want to analyze that one for me
Back to the real world, another fantastic win and through to the QF. Wow. Let's say that again. Kyle Edmund is in a Grand Slam Quarter Final. Just Wow. He's come along way since I first saw him play on Feb 19th 2012 when as an unranked 17 year old, he stepped on court against Mark Vervoort (then ranked 881) in Murcia and promptly bageled him in about 12 minutes flat.
After victory today he now stands at 35 in the live rankings and still on an upward trajectory. So proud of him. I am also glad he won today because after defeating Anderson in R1, so many were saying (not necessarily on this board) that this was an "easy draw" and he needed to take advantage of it. Anything less than a QF would probably have been seen by those people as a failure - not that I would have agreed with that assessment. But take advantage he certainly has. And it has been far from easy.
From here, going any further in this tournament will be a bonus, but given the way he is playing I wouldn't rule it out.
Get in there Kedders.
I remember the Vervoort win, and that someone (not sure if it was you Bob or someone else) translated a frustrated rant from him in Dutch as "does this kid never miss!". Hopefully today's result comes as some comfort to Mr Vervoort
Just woken up here in Brazil. It's 6am here and had feared the worst after the strangest dream in which Kyle had lost in straight sets but had made it through to the SF of the Snooker World Championship at the Crucible. Any dream analyzers want to analyze that one for me
Back to the real world, another fantastic win and through to the QF. Wow. Let's say that again. Kyle Edmund is in a Grand Slam Quarter Final. Just Wow. He's come along way since I first saw him play on Feb 19th 2012 when as an unranked 17 year old, he stepped on court against Mark Vervoort (then ranked 881) in Murcia and promptly bageled him in about 12 minutes flat.
After victory today he now stands at 35 in the live rankings and still on an upward trajectory. So proud of him. I am also glad he won today because after defeating Anderson in R1, so many were saying (not necessarily on this board) that this was an "easy draw" and he needed to take advantage of it. Anything less than a QF would probably have been seen by those people as a failure - not that I would have agreed with that assessment. But take advantage he certainly has. And it has been far from easy.
From here, going any further in this tournament will be a bonus, but given the way he is playing I wouldn't rule it out.
Get in there Kedders.
I remember the Vervoort win, and that someone (not sure if it was you Bob or someone else) translated a frustrated rant from him in Dutch as "does this kid never miss!". Hopefully today's result comes as some comfort to Mr Vervoort
And well done Kyle! Good luck for the QF!!
Spot on re the quote - with a couple of expletives thrown in for good measure.
So Bob and I and got the QF opponent we both suggested we preferred. Hmm, I don't think we quite said hah WR 3 bring it on, but we've got him anyway. And this time, this place and how they had been playing, it seemed the better option. Didn't see it but appears Dimitrov played well in a very good match. Upped his game today? I think on balance whatever it is still my preference.
Everyone's said it already but Kyle is just having a blast ! And it's lovely to see
And a huge thank you to his new Swedish coach who must be a big part of the improvement. Supposedly, he's "on him every day about attitude hell be saying I want positive body language, I want you to go after your backhand a little bit more...." And it's certainly doing the trick.
Good luck in the quarters, Kyle.
There's an analysis by Stu Fraser on The Sunday Times site of Kyle's progress so far under the heading "Battle-hardened Edmund is closing in on Murray's No 1 status". First three paragraphs:
After sealing another hard-fought victory in the fourth round of the Australian Open, Kyle Edmund jumped in the air and threw out his right arm, fist pumped, in celebration. The 23-year-old may not be renowned for such joyful reactions, but it seemed a fitting way to mark a hugely significant moment in British tennis.
It is more than 13 years since any Briton other than Andy Murray reached the mens singles quarter-finals of a grand slam tournament, when Tim Henman, in the latter years of his career, embarked on a run to the last-four of the 2004 US Open.
And here in Melbourne, it was way back in 1985 when the Union Jack was last represented by a non-Murray in the last-eight. John Lloyd was the man responsible, winning four matches when the tournament was played on the grass of Kooyong, around five miles east of its present site at Melbourne Park.
Closing paragraph:
It is also inevitable, with Murray on the sidelines, that Edmund will become the new British No 1 in the coming months, possibly around the start of March. He could even do it here if he was to reach the final. But lets not get too carried away, for now.