Britain’s Kyle Edmund is through to the Australian Open semi-finals after a sensational victory over third seed Grigor Dimitrov this morning.
Following his 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over the Bulgarian, 23-year-old Edmund becomes the sixth British man to reach a grand slam semi-final. He will now face Marin Cilic for a place in the final on Sunday.
Speaking after his victory against Dimitrov, Edmund told The Times it was an “amazing feeling” to win on his debut appearance on the Rod Laver Arena.
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“With these sort of things, you’re emotionally engaged and you don’t take it in,” he said. “At the end of a hard match, I just tried to enjoy the moment. It’s my first match on this court and it was very special.
“I know how it feels like now to be Andy Murray for the last eight years. It’s probably the first time I have done well on my own, so there is more attention there. Of course you take it in your stride, try and embrace it as much as possible. It’s a good problem to have, winning and getting all that attention.”
After his superb run of victories in Melbourne the question now is: can Edmund go all the way and win the Australian Open?
Standing in his way in the last four will be 29-year-old Cilic. The Croatian progressed to the semi-finals after his last-eight opponent Rafael Nadal was forced to retire during their match through injury. Cilic was leading 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 2-0 when top seed Nadal retired hurt.
Edmund certainly has the belief he can win a first grand slam. Speaking before his quarter-final against Dimitrov, he told the BBC: “Every time I step on the court, I believe I’m going to win. It’s no different now. The next opponent, I take it one step at a time. I have to believe I’m going to win and believe in my game.”
Dimitrov also believes that Edmund has a great chance. “I think once you reach that stage of a grand slam, anything can happen really,” he said in Metro. “It’s really how much you want it. These kind of opportunities don’t always come on the door. So once you have them, try to make the most out of them. That’s the best thing.
“Look, Kyle deserves all the respect. He deserved to win, simple as that. He’s been working so hard the past months. I’ve seen that. Played him a couple of times. I take full responsibility of my match today. There’s no point for me to say what I did wrong because I can sit here and talk about it, but it’s all about him right now. He’s the winner.”
Kyle Edmund betting odds
Edmund believes he can go all the way, but how do the bookies rate his chances of winning the Australian Open? We look at the latest prices.
Oddschecker
- Roger Federer: 6/5 fav
- Hyeon Chung: 10/1
- Tomas Berdych: 18/1
- Marin Cilic: 22/1
- Kyle Edmund: 25/1
- Tennys Sandgren: 80/1
William Hill
- Roger Federer: 4/6
- Marin Cilic: 3/1
- Hyeon Chung: 8/1
- Kyle Edmund: 12/1
- Tomas Berdych: 14/1
- Tennys Sandgren: 66/1
Huge payday and rankings boost
Even before his semi-final clash against Cilic, Edmund will still have earned the biggest payday of his career. Metro reports that for reaching the semi-finals Edmund will pocket £506,000 in prize money.
If he beats Cilic and progresses to Sunday’s final Edmund will earn £1,150,000. For winning the title he would take home £2,230,000.
While the cash would no doubt be welcome, Edmund could secure an even bigger prize for reaching the Australian Open final - he would overtake Andy Murray and become the British No.1 and move into the world’s top 20.
How the media reacted to Edmund’s victory
Kevin Mitchell, The Guardian: “The 23-year-old Yorkshireman might allow himself at least a moment to dream about the ultimate prize on Sunday. He has already declared he thinks he can win it. Now he is two wins away from delivering on that conviction. If his body and brain hold up under the biggest examination yet of his temperament and ability, he will give himself a chance to become the first British man to win here since Fred Perry 84 years ago.”
Tennis legend John McEnroe: “He’s [Dimitrov] got to be a bit stunned. But credit to Edmund. He has learned how to play in big matches.”
Vicki Hodges, The Daily Telegraph: “With Andy Murray sidelined, it was beyond all wild hopes at the start of the tournament that Britain would have a man through to the last four but Edmund has come of age at Melbourne Park and this was his finest moment yet. His ability to withstand the pressure at the big moments has been one of the defining features of Edmund’s run here.”
Mike Dickson, Daily Mail: “For the neutral it was no classic, but it was a tremendous, gutsy effort of will from Edmund.”
Simon Cambers, ESPN: “Edmund, who was part of Britain’s 2015 Davis Cup-winning team, isn’t a complete stranger to the big stage, but at the end of the match, he was shaking his head by the side of the court, trying to come to terms with the magnitude of his win.”
How Twitter reacted to his victory
A Twitter moment for British tennis’s man of the moment.
“Wow” says Leon Smith, the Great Britain Davis Cup captain.
The Australian Open hails “King Kyle”.
British tennis pro Marcus Willis says Edmund’s performance was “ridiculous”.
“Boom” says Greg Rusedski.
The Times tennis writer Stuart Fraser gets excited at match point.
Some interesting facts from Fraser.
