Kyle Edmund might begin to know what Andy Murray feels like at a grand slam if he reaches the second week of the US Open: tired and a little lonely.
In his ninth match in 12 days here on Wednesday evening, the 22-year-old heir apparent to Murray’s British crown showed no signs of fatigue in beating the determined American Steve Johnson 7-5, 6-2, 7-6 (4) in two-and-a-quarter hours in the Louis Armstrong Stadium, but it will surely be tough again in the third round on Friday. And, after the exits on day three of compatriots Aljaz Bedene and Cameron Norrie, he will be very much on his own.
“I did what I needed to do, tactics and controlling the match,” he said courtside. “I always felt in control. The third set was big, because those key points change matches. I was very happy to close it out in three.
“He’s a unique player. Every shot is to set him up for the forehand, and he gives you no pace on the backhand. I’ve gained more maturity and experience [since losing to him two years ago at the Australian Open]. It was a level up then and he crushed me, physically. It was a big learning curve for me.”
Edmund revealed after what looked like a routine three-set win over the Dutchman Robin Haase in the first round on Monday that he felt tired after his recent successes – including a quarter-final win over Johnson in Winston-Salem.
In a hard-fought first set, Edmund was broken twice and replied with three breaks of his own, as neither player gained convincing dominance. However, he came to life in the second, as he thrashed some searing forehands to go 3-0 up and Johnson looked like the man who had played almost non-stop for a fortnight. A wild return off a second serve handed Edmund the eighth game to love, and the second set.
What he needed was a quick kill, to bolster not only his self belief but his energy reserves. He didn’t get one. Edmund has suffered stamina shut-downs in five-setters before, and he had to dig deep for victory again as Johnson stubbornly dragged him into a tie-break. Edmund went 5-3 up as Johnson finally wilted, leaving the British player with two serves to secure the win. An unreturnable serve wide to the backhand wide gave him match point, and Johnson pushed a final forehand long.
Norrie, the only other British player left in the men’s draw at the time – given Murray’s absence with a hip strain that will probably require surgery and the earlier loss by Bedene – didn’t hit a rhythm at all in the first set of his second-round match against Pablo Carreno Busta on Court 6.
The frame flew past him in 26 minutes as the 12th seed brought his Spanish clay-court skills to Norrie’s favourite surface, with a steady serve and thoughtful groundstrokes. He converted two of five break opportunities, allowing Norrie no looks at all.
Norrie got on the board early in the second to boost his confidence, and should have gone ahead in the fourth game, when Carreno Busta saved four break points, but he faded again. In the third, it was a similar story, as he grabbed a 2-0 lead before handing it back, then hanging on for as long as he could. Carreno Busta forced another break in the seventh game as Norrie pushed a backhand wide.
The Spaniard remained steady and rounded out a solid 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 win. Norrie, who was born in South Africa and grew up in New Zealand, is British-qualified through his Scottish father and Welsh mother. He is a decent find for Leon Smith’s Davis Cup squad, well balanced and canny around the court, getting a lot of good angles on his left-handed serve, but he is still working on his power off the ground. That deficit allowed Carreno Busta too many easy openings on Wednesday night.
Norrie said later he had enjoyed testing himself at a higher level in a major, but conceded, “I didn’t return very well today and I haven’t even looked at my first serve percentage stats, but I’m sure I was real low [50%]. I also double-faulted a lot [nine times].”
On the plus side, he said, “I think I belong here and I can play at this level. I guess I can take confidence from that. I’m in good shape. I haven’t been tired in any of my matches, I felt fit out there but you can always improve.”
As much as he has enjoyed his first visit to Flushing Meadows, Norrie is staying grounded about his career. “I’m heading back to TCU [Texas Christian University], doing a fitness block with one of the LTA trainers who is coming out to help me, and then I’m playing a bunch of challengers in the States.” There might be a handful of people watching him there, he admitted.
Bedene’s defeat earlier in the day was health related: an inflamed knee tendon that finally gave up on him after six weeks of pain. His restricted lateral movement allowed the combative Russian teenager Andrey Rublev – who could take only five games off Murray at the Australian Open this year – to pick his spots for a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win in less than two hours.
Rublev has to back up on Thursday, against Grigor Dimitrov, after the tournament crammed in the matches on Wednesday to make up for the Tuesday rain wipeout.
A dispirited Bedene said later he was considering taking the rest of the season off. “I am struggling with movement,” he told the BBC. “I’ve had problems with the knee since Wimbledon. I thought it was going to be OK but it’s not – so tough times.
“I was playing one hour a day here and it felt OK, not perfect. It felt okay with the pills. Before the match I thought I was going to feel better but I felt something in the third game of the first set and then I knew I was going to struggle on the forehand side. Usually that’s my better shot, but not today.
“I had an ultrasound in Hamburg which showed inflammation of tendon. They said [to take] a month off. I went two, three weeks without tennis but it still wasn’t great. So I will probably have to postpone playing tennis.
“I have to do an MRI now. I’m really disappointed. I’m playing well but my tennis depends a lot on my legs, I love to run and it just felt bad. There is little chance of playing St Petersburg [which starts on 18 September]. People advise me also not to go to Asia and rest. I’ll see.”
