KYLE EDMUND is Britain’s latest tennis sensation after storming into the semi-finals of the Australian Open.
The 23-year-old secured a stunning four-set victory over number three seed Grigor Dimitrov in Melbourne to reach the last four of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career.
He will now go head-to-head with Marin Cilic in the last four, after he came through his last-eight clash with Rafael Nadal who was forced to retire injured.
His displays Down Under have cemented his place as a genuine force to be reckoned with on the professional tour, and could see him rise up to 25 in the world rankings next week.
Not bad for a youngster who grew up in the North Yorkshire village of Tickton who only picked up a racket for the first time when he was ten, and who started the tournament as a 125-1 outsider.
Edmund, the son of a Welsh businessman and a South African housewife, moved to East Riding from Zimbabwe when he was three.
Edmund produced a stunning display to make it through to the last four in Melbourne
His early years were spent falling in love with cricket and football, only to discover almost by accident he had a natural talent for tennis.
Dad Steven, a director of a renewable energy company, and mum Denise quickly saw the prodigy they had on their hands and began funding coaching at a couple of local clubs.
It was only when he was invited to the LTA’s National Training Centre in Roehampton at the age of 17 that the Edmund family stopped funding his coaching and development.
ANDY MAN ‘Now I know how Andy Murray feels’ says British tennis hero Kyle Edmund
Edmund’s potential was soon spotted by Andy Murray, who made a point of helping his development by sharing training sessions with the youngster.
And word spread about his talents so much that Nadal personally asked for him to be his hitting partner at Wimbledon while Edmund was still a junior.
Kyle Edmund Factfile
Age: 23
Birthplace: Johannesburg, South Africa
Moved to North Yorkshire aged 3
Lives: Bahamas
Current world ranking: 49
Coach: Fredrik Rosengren
Began playing aged 10
Favourite surface: Clay
Favourite tournament: Wimbledon
Hobbies: Liverpool FC, Formula One, golf
Despite an impressive career as a junior, which saw him reach the last four of the US Open and win two Grand Slam doubles titles, his progress on the senior circuit has been workmanlike.
It wasn’t until 2015 when he first started to make an impression, and was handed his Davis Cup debut in the final as the team beat Belgium to lift the trophy.
Since then his climb up the world ranking has been steady, but since linking up with Swedish coach Frederik Rosengren last year he has taken a major step forward.
SEMI-N SPECIAL: Brits who have made Grand Slam final four
KYLE EDMUND has joined an exclusive club of British men who have reached the semi finals of a Grand Slam in the Open Era – the period since tennis went fully professional in 1968.
ROGER TAYLOR
3 semi-final appearances (Wimbledon 1970, 1973; Australian Open 1970) – A Yorkshireman like Edmund, the Sheffield player also reached the last four at Wimbledon in 1967. Never made a singles final, reaching a career high of world No 8, but won men’s doubles titles at the US Open in 1971 and 1972 with Australia’s John Newcombe and South Africa’s Cliff Drysdale.
JOHN LLOYD
1 semi final appearance (Australia Open 1970) – Lloyd’s achievements have been unfairly overshadowed by the fact he was married for eight years to 18-time Grand Slam singles champion Chris Evert. Reached world No 21 in singles, but won mixed doubles titles with Wendy Turnbull at the 1982 French Open and at Wimbledon in 1983 and 1984.
GREG RUSEDSKI
1 semi-final appearance (US Open 1997) – Rusedski beat Jonas Bjorkman to become Britain’s first male Grand Slam singles finalist since Bunny Austin in 1938 and its last until you know who. Rusedski lost to Australia’s Pat Rafter but that was enough to earn him the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award. Went as high as world No 4.
TIM HENMAN
6 semi final appearances (Wimbledon 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002; French Open 2004; US Open 2004) – Unfairly branded a loser because of his Wimbledon heartaches – he was beaten on each occasion by the eventual winner – Henman was actually Britain’s best post-WWII male player until a certain someone arrived. Also reached world No 4 and had a hill at the All England Club named after him.
SIR ANDY MURRAY
21 semi-final appearances (6 Australian Open, 5 French Open, 7 Wimbledon, 3 US Open) – The boy from Dunblane has redefined what is possible for a British male tennis player. Murray has been in 11 Slam finals, winning three, as well as winning two Olympic titles, leading Britain to its first Davis Cup triumph for nearly 80 years and becoming the nation’s first ever world No 1.
Rosengren has been credited with helping Edmund improve his mental strength in pressure moments, and the Brit is now coming through tight matches he would have lost before.
The talent has always been there, only to crumble at key moments. Now a new toughness is in his game and he has been rewarded with success.
Edmund has also made the decision to base himself in the Bahamas, were he trains at the Leyton Hewitt Academy when he is not away on Tour.
Away from the game, his two loves are Liverpool Football Club and motorsports.
Asked what he wanted to be if he wasn’t a tennis pro, Edmund chose a career as a Formula One driver.
Latest from Australian Open
Last year he was invited to see first hand what happens in F1 when McLaren hosted him at the British Grand Prix.
And on rare weekends off, Edmund tries to watch Liverpool as often as he can and even got a behind-the-scenes tour of Anfield last year.
Those days could now be a thing of the past, though, as Edmund starts to become an increasing force on the men’s Tour.
SunSport's tennis man Dan King's verdict from Melboure
SHOW me someone outside Kyle Edmund’s camp (and probably inside it) who claims they predicted this, and I’ll show you a liar.
Edmund, the tennis experts said, had the potential one day to be at least a top 20 player and someone who could go deep in Grand Slams.
But here, and now? It’s a lovely surprise. Something he has worked hard for a decade to achieve, but a surprise nonetheless.
Most Brits who turned up in Australia would have thought Jo Konta the more likely player to go deep in Melbourne after her runs to the semis and quarters in the previous two years.
Especially after Edmund was handed what looked like a pig of a first-round draw against big-serving world No 11 Kevin Anderson.
But with no Andy Murray around to take most of the attention, the 23 year old has come of age in spectacular style.
Edmund quickly tires of questions about the pressure of being in the spotlight in Murray’s absence and about filling the void once Britain’s greatest tennis player retires – despite claiming after this historic victory: “It’s a nice problem to have.”
But the naturally reserved young man prefers to do his talking on the court and what he is doing in Melbourne suggests that he is embracing the challenge.
And everyone – excluding the quietly confident Edmund – may have to revise their expectations. Sometimes it’s great to be wrong.
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