ATP: One to watch: Kyle Edmund keeps an eye on the top 20

Andy Murray is the clear number one in British men’s tennis. His potential successor Kyle Edmund is disregarded a little bit and had a great start to the season.

Not many people have these young Brits on their cards when it comes to spectacular and balanced tennis. Kyle Edmund has been flying slightly below the radar since he entered the top 100 in the ATP ranking. The 22-year-old is in top form, as he shows at the opening tournament in Brisbane.

On his way to the quarter-finals he cleared the two “young guns” Denis Shapovalov and Hyeon Chung out of the way and fought a duel with defending champions Grigor Dimitrov.

In an interview with ESPN, the Briton clarified his goals for the rest of the season:”It would be great to advance into the top 20,30. The last two years I haven’t really improved my ranking – now a push has to be made:” The young man with the enormous handle fell a place behind his fellow countryman Aljaz Bedene in the ranking.

In 2016, Edmund finished 40th in the world rankings, and twelve months later he had to settle for ten places behind him. These two years are said to have matured him and he would now feel ready for the next step, the right-handed man added. Born in South Africa, he suffered some minor injuries in 2017.

In Brisbane and at the end of the season, however, he was in great physical shape and seems ready to achieve his goals. Edmund does not want to be put under any pressure by the big dreams:”I was in three or four semi-finals at tournaments and of course I want to win the biggest tournaments in the world. Now, however, I have to improve my ranking and learn how to handle tight match situations better,”says Edmund.

In order to improve himself playfully, he didn’t have to make a lot of adjustments during training. It’s the little things that make the difference on and off the pitch,”explained the Davis Cup player.

The single panel in Brisbane