Kyle Edmund insists he can still have a strong finish to 2019, despite citing a lack of fitness as he crashed out of Wimbledon.
The British No1 was three games from victory against Fernando Verdasco — standing two sets and a break up at one stage — but lost 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 3-6, 4-6.
Edmund had high hopes heading into the tournament, even though he had dropped to his lowest ranking since January 2018 and retired injured from the French Open.
The American hard court season follows Wimbledon, with Edmund set to play next in Washington, and he is eyeing an opportunity to boost his ranking from No30 in the world.
“The tennis season is so long,” said Edmund, 24.
“This time last year, I got ill straight after Wimbledon and won two matches in the US hard court series — I think in Cincinnati and Winston-Salem. I have no [ranking] points to defend there. There’s a great opportunity.
“I finished the year slightly early last year. It would be nice to go into the hard court series feeling really good and then having a good run of matches. For sure there is stuff to play for.
“My next tournament is Washington. The plan now is to get ready for that and train.
“Obviously after you lose, you don’t just sit on the couch for a few weeks, then go and play in Washington. You get ready. You get your body in check, work on your game.
“Like any other time in the year, once you’re done with a surface, coming off the hard to clay, you train, keep in check.
“It is the same going into the grass season, you get ready for the grass. Now it’s just getting ready for the hard court season. My life’s tennis, so I go and play.”
Edmund appeared to hyper-extend his knee in the third set which contributed to defeat against Verdasco after three hours and 43 minutes but he claimed the bigger issue was poor conditioning.
“I don’t have an injury,” said Edmund. “I’ve got to be able to play at the intensity I started the match for longer. I definitely didn’t play with the same intensity at the end.
“These are not excuses. These are just things I’ve got to get a bit better at dealing with. I was in a position to win and didn’t.”
