Edmund falls at second hurdle

The midges were biting, the daylight was fading, there was a distinct chill in the air and the small matter of a Euro 2012 England game on the telly but that didn’t mater a jot to the army of spectators who thronged Court 14.

For they were here to see Kyle Edmund, that fellow who entered the tournament ranked 1293 in the world and who surpassed all expectation by knocking out 12th seeded Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver in three sets yesterday evening.

It was blindingly obvious from the moment the British wild card stepped on court that he was still buoyed by the previous day’s events. Put simply, he barely missed a ball in the opening set against Marcel Felder, Uruguay’s top men’s singles player, who was left looking bewildered as Edmund raced away with the opening set 6-0.

The young Briton continued to threaten in the second, possessing a handful of breakpoints in the seventh game but this time round he was failing to convert. Another breakpoint opportunity came and went in the eleventh game and by the tie-break it became evident that tiredness and an element of despondency had weaved its way into Edmund’s play. Felder, meanwhile, found form and seized every opportunity dropping only two points in the tie break. (7-2)

Cracks began to show in the third much to the dismay of the British fans. A wilting Edmund managed to hold a marathon opening service game but there was a sense he would be broken at the very next opportunity. He was. The pattern was repeated two games later when he double faulted to hand Marcel Felder a 5-2 lead. A string of errors cost him three match points and, when he blasted a ball wide on the second, ultimately proved to be his downfall.

“As the match wore on physically you get tired and mentally it’s quite draining,” Edmund said after the match. “If tight points, tight situations don’t go your way then you get a bit down but I had my chances. I think I was playing a bit too well in the first and he couldn’t get a rhythm. I think the first game when he held it’s like a brand new match, you can win in two sets which he did. He found his feet and started to play better.”