Melbourne: Kyle Edmund is through to the semi-finals of a slam for the first time after beating world No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov in four sets on day nine of the Australian Open — and the 23-year-old Yorkshireman might allow himself at least a moment to dream about the ultimate prize on Sunday afternoon.
He has already declared he thinks he can win it. Now he is two wins away from delivering on that conviction. If his body and brain hold up under the biggest examination yet of his temperament and ability, he will give himself chance to become the first British man to win here since Fred Perry 84 years ago.
Edmund beat Dimitrov 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and 49 minutes on a warm Tuesday afternoon in front of an engaged house of 15,000 fans on Rod Laver Arena. Despite a few hiccups, he looked very much at home.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” Edmund said. “I’m very happy. With these sort of things you’re so emotionally engaged that you don’t really take it in, you don’t enjoy yourself, so just at the end, after a hard match and having played lots of matches so far, I just really tried to enjoy the moment. This was my first match on this court and it was very special.”
Asked what the keys had been to his victory over Dimitrov, Edmund said: “He’s played hard matches. He won a five-set match and then a high-level match against Nick Kyrgios, so I knew it was going to be tough. I had a bit of a dip in the second set. I think it was quite poor tennis at some point. But in the third set I managed to break him right at the end. I had a little blip in the fourth set but held my nerve in that last game and just prayed that last ball was out.”
He might have to rely on kind results elsewhere, but he will not lack for inspiration. Hyeon Chung’s straight-sets win over Novak Djokovic on Monday night has already set this tournament alight, and all things seem possible. If he plays like this in the semi-finals on Thursday, Edmund, ranked 49 in the world and set to climb much higher, will make his presence felt.
— Guardian News & Media Ltd, 2018
Results
Men’s Singles
Quarter-finals
Kyle Edmund (GBR) bt Grigor Dimitrov (3) (BUL) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
Women’s Singles
Quarter-finals
Elise Mertens (BEL) bt Elina Svitolina (4) (UKR) 6-4, 6-0
