Kyle Edmund can upset Grigor Dimitrov at Australian Open
"I think he's shown everybody what's he capable of and what many of us in the game believed he was going to do at some stage - it's happened here in Australia"
Thursday 24 May 2018 14:22, UK
Mark Petchey believes Britain's last singles hope Kyle Edmund has a "good shot" at upsetting Grigor Dimitrov in the Australian Open quarter-finals on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old has had to fly the flag for Britain on his own at the Australian Open after Andy Murray withdrew before the tournament with an ongoing hip problem, while Johanna Konta suffered a surprise second-round exit in the women's draw in Melbourne.
Edmund had only reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam event on one occasion, at the US Open in 2016, before his stellar run in Melbourne, which has seen him record victories over 11th seed Kevin Anderson, Denis Istomin, Nikoloz Basilashvili and Andreas Seppi in the gruelling Australian heat.
The world No 49 will face Dimitrov for a place in the last four in the early hours of Tuesday morning in the UK with real optimism of causing a major upset.
Dimitrov starts the favourite, but do I believe Edmund can cause an upset? Absolutely, I do.
"I think he's got a good shot," said tennis analyst Petchey. "I said before the start of the tournament that I wouldn't be surprised to see him reach the quarter-finals if he could get past Kevin Anderson and that's exactly what has transpired.
"I think he's shown everybody what's he capable of and what many of us in the game believed he was going to do at some stage - it's happened here in Australia.
"The confidence that he's got from the wins that he's had will hold him in good stead. He's serving better than ever.
"His coach Fidde Rosengren has done a good job in the off-season at improving that part of his game which was always something that was going to happen, but he's made it happen at the start of the season here. It's obviously made a big difference because it's not just about working harder, it's about working faster, and he's done a really, really great job. He's got a real chance of upsetting Dimitrov.
"Kyle's game is in a great place. He can hurt people because he's got enough weapons to allow him to cause another upset.
"Dimitrov starts the favourite, but do I believe Edmund can cause an upset? Absolutely, I do."
Edmund spent a lot of time training at Lleyton Hewitt's Albany Sports Academy in the Bahamas during the off-season, where the British No 2 is now based.
Rosengren has been aided by Mark Hilton and physical trainer Ian Prangley in Edmund's development, but Petchey says it's all been part of a long progress.
He said: "It's a process from all the coaches that he's had from Colin Beecher and Ryan Jones to get to where he is now. Players have a variety of coaches and a variety of situations, so it just takes a little bit of time for all the pieces of the jigsaw to fall into place.
"There's no set formula or timeline, it's just when it's going to happen and for Kyle it has happened here. It's good timing, and for the first major of the year it's going to give him a great boost, no matter what happens against Grigor, for the rest of 2018."
The one deciding set Edmund has lost this season came against Dimitrov in Brisbane, when he matched the Bulgarian before turning his ankle late on. Their other previous meeting in Washington last summer also went the distance, but Petchey says the world No 3 will be a different test.
"He's a different style of player," he said. "He's got the confidence of winning the ATP World Tour Finals in London and although he hasn't played his best, I think we've seen the maturity, determination, and grit in Grigor's game that even though he hasn't played his best he's got himself through to the quarters again. He'll be feeling good about his tennis right now."
