Kyle Edmund: British number one now believes he can win Wimbledon
- Published
British number one Edmund meets Jurgen Klopp
Wimbledon 2019 on the BBC |
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Venue: All England Club Dates: 1-14 July |
Coverage: Live across BBC TV, BBC Radio and the BBC Sport website with extensive coverage on BBC iPlayer, Red Button, Connected TVs and mobile app. Full times and channels. |
Kyle Edmund says he is "living the dream" by going into Wimbledon as British number one - and thinks he can cause a major surprise by winning the men's singles title.
The 24-year-old's best Grand Slam result to date was a run to the 2018 Australian Open semi-finals.
In six visits to the All England Club, he has never been past round three.
But when asked if he is feels he can lift the trophy, 30th seed Edmund told BBC Sport: "Yeah, definitely."
He added: "I believe that. I know I have the game for it. There's a point where you really have to start believing it if you want to do it and I've really started to believe it over the last few years."
Edmund has struggled for form this year, dropping to his lowest ranking since January 2018, and has recently been troubled by a knee injury that forced him to retire from his French Open second-round match.
However, the world number 31 says he is now "feeling good" and "a lot more positive" since he lost in the first round of Queen's to top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
On Friday, Edmund faces Taylor Fritz in the semi-finals at Eastbourne, his last tournament before Wimbledon begins on Monday.
With Andy Murray opting only to play doubles at SW19 as the three-time Grand Slam champion continues his recovery from major hip surgery, much of the British singles focus will fall on Edmund.
"It's pretty cool," explained the Yorkshireman, who was beaten in four sets by eventual champion Novak Djokovic 12 months ago.
"Everyone turns on the TV for that time of year and the first name you go to is the British number one, that's where the expectation is.
"Andy has done it for so long and done very well. After being at that position it shows how well he did cope with it and how much pressure and expectation was on him.
"Now it's me, it's my turn to deal with that - you really have to try to embrace it and take it on. Last year was the first time I played on Court One and then twice on Centre - it was an amazing experience.
"You could say I'm living the dream. I was once the kid watching Tim [Henman] and Andy playing at Wimbledon, thinking it would be amazing to be there and how cool it would be.
"Now I'm there. Now I'm trying to live it and it's not easy because when you're in the moment, it can become quite intense, but once I look back at the end of my career the things that hopefully I achieve now, I can be really pleased when I'm done and say I lived my dream."
Kyle Edmund beat fellow Briton Dan Evans in the quarter-finals at Eastbourne on Thursday
In late April, the BBC accompanied Edmund on a visit to Liverpool, the football club he supports, and he said the Reds' glittering history is a source of inspiration.
"The bottom line is you are never considered great or good in people's minds without silverware - that's just the nature of sport, that you do get reflected on your success," he said.
"Looking at these guys [Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Djokovic, Murray] who've been so consistent winning trophies throughout these years is impressive, but there's a time now where those guys are going to be coming out of it, there's a gap to be filled and it's down to me to do it.
"I've got the game to do it, I've got the tool set, it's just about getting my head screwed on and doing it basically. You have to believe. If you don't believe then there's almost no point starting."