Kyle Edmund beats Alex Ward at Wimbledon to reach second round
Tuesday 4 July 2017 17:43, UK
Kyle Edmund saw off British qualifier Alex Ward to book his place in the second round of Wimbledon with a convincing victory.
The British No 2 overcame a disappointing first set against Ward, who had come through three rounds of qualifying to reach the main draw, to win 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-1 in just over two hours.
Edmund secured his first victory in the main draw at Wimbledon but it was his unheralded British opponent who made the quicker start.
Ward, the world No 869, broke Edmund's opening service game of the match before taking the opening set 6-4 and looked comfortable on his own service games.
The momentum changed in the second set when Edmund broke for a 4-2 lead and levelled the scoreline by winning the set 6-3.
Ward's energy levels began to drop as Edmund's game grew in stature and the world No 50 won the next two sets in convincing fashion to avoid a fifth successive first-round defeat at Wimbledon.
"It's nice to get my first win," said Edmund in his on-court interview. "The first set was tricky, he really attacked me.
"It was just trying to turn the momentum which is the tricky bit. Well done to Alex, he had a long injury layout so it's good to see nice guys like him doing well."
Edmund will meet 15th seed Gael Monfils for the first time after the Frenchman beat Belgium's Daniel Brands 6-3 7-5 6-4 to advance to the second round.
The news wasn't as good for the rest of Britons in action as James Ward, Katie Boulter and Brydan Klein all crashed out following first round defeats.
James Ward joined his namesake in bowing out at the first hurdle, losing 6-4 6-4 6-3 to Marcos Baghdatis while Klein was beaten in straight sets by Japan's Yuichi Sugita.
Boulter was making her Wimbledon debut and delighted crowd by taking the first set against Christina McHale only to see the experienced American battle back to level the match.
The 20-year-old from Leicester broke to lead early in the decider but it was McHale who held her poise to wrap up a 3-6 7-5 6-3 success.
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