Kyle Edmund dreams of Grand Slam title after booking Australian Open semi-final spot
Written by News on 23/01/2018
Kyle Edmund has dreams of winning a Grand Slam after victory over Grigor Dimitrov booked a spot in the Australian Open semi-final.
The British No 2, whose best previous run at a major was reaching the fourth round at the US Open in 2016, is now two victories away from a Grand Slam title after earning his maiden victory over a top-10 player.
Edmund, the sixth British man in the Open era to reach a Grand Slam semi-final in singles, will meet Marin Cilic on Thursday for a place in the final and said he had full belief in his game prior to beating Dimitrov.
“You just dream of lots of things,” said Edmund. “It’s all a dream. Until it becomes a reality, then it really hits you.
“You dream of playing in Grand Slams, first of all. I’ve done that. Hitting with the top guys. I remember being a practice partner for Andy and Rafa and Roger, to warm them up. Then suddenly you’re playing these guys.
“At first, it’s a bit surreal. Then you take it in your stride. That competitive instinct comes in. You want to beat them.
“A dream was to play for my country. I’ve done that. But of course, the big one is to be in Grand Slam finals. Obviously, a dream is to win them.”
Despite being faced with his biggest match of his burgeoning career Edmund, who had lost his previous two meetings with Dimitrov, wasn’t put off by the magnitude of the occasion and said he had produced a “brave” performance.
When asked how he had prepared to cope with nerves, Edmund said: “We just talked about it with my coach. It’s totally normal to feel nervous. As an emotion, as a human being, it’s normal. I just accepted that and had things in place to basically deal with it.
“The match in Brisbane was tight. Not too much in it. Today was similar. Maybe just in the key moments I stepped up well and was brave, really went for my shots, and they came good. I believed that I could pull off some good stuff.”
(c) Sky News 2018: Kyle Edmund dreams of Grand Slam title after booking Australian Open semi-final spot
