London: Kyle Edmund’s bid to end Britain’s 51- year wait for a Wimbledon boys’ champion was ended at the semi-final stage on Friday.
The 18-year-old from Beverley fought gamely but found former world junior No 1 Gianluigi Quinzi too strong.
The Italian, ranked one place lower than Edmund as the sixth seed, made the most of the opportunities that came his way to win 6-4, 6-4 in 79 minutes on Court No 3. However, even though the British No 13 could have little cause for complaint yesterday, questions will be asked about the youngster’s workload. So far this summer he has started a debut campaign on the men’s tour, winning his first match with a straight-sets victory over Kenny de Schepper at Eastbourne. He was also given a wildcard at Queen’s, losing to Gilles Simon. And during this tournament, he has participated in five separate competitions, almost always being scheduled to play two matches per day. Edmund has lined up in the boys’ singles and doubles. He has also been listed for the men’s singles and doubles.
If you add the mixed doubles as well, then his itinerary has left little time for rest and recuperation. And the six foot two inch teenager has also been asked to knock up with Andy Murray on several occasions. Edmund makes a valid point about the experience adding value to his tennis, but there are bound to be questions over his tennis commitments that his coaches will assess as they pick through his campaign.
Yesterday Edmund hit his straps in the opening set, firing balls down at 202 kmp/h, but Quinzi refused to buckle.And the match turned in the seventh game of the opening set. Quinzi saved himself nine points on deuce with the score at 3-3 and went on to break Edmund’s serve in the next game to wrap up the set. It was a similar story in the second set. The Brit made inroads but was unable to pressure his opponent’s serve, eventually losing his own and the match. Edmund quickly rushed off to prepare for a boys doubles’ match later. Maybe he will wonder whether he gave himself the best chance possible.
