For Kyle Edmund, Roland Garros may not have been the first Major where he played in the main draw. That was his ‘home’ Wimbledon, back in 2013, as a teenager with a wild card, and ranked just 385. He lost to the 22-ranked Jerzy Janowicz.
But Roland Garros was the first Major where Edmund won a match, in 2015, aged 20, and it was earned the hard way, via qualifying. It ended the hard way, too. After three match-wins to make the main draw, he battled through three hours and five sets to reach the second round, only to be forced to withdraw with a stomach injury.
Then last year, Edmund won his second Major match—back at Roland Garros. His reward was the No17 seed John Isner, a loss, but if he needed a boost to his confidence—and status on the tour—it came in New York four months later: Not just a fourth-round run but a win over Isner, having already beaten No15 seed Richard Gasquet.
This year back at Roland Garros, the draw threatened to thwart him again at the second-round stage: He was scheduled to face home favourite and No12 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, here fresh from winning in Lyon. But fate took a hand, and No91 ranked Renzo Olivo put out the Frenchman. Here then was a chance for Edmund to break new ground in Paris. Should he do so, it may set up the match he had missed out on in 2015—a first encounter with No19 Nick Kyrgios.
Both men, both now 22, have missed out on a chance to qualify for the first playing of the #NextGen Finals in Milan—an end-of-season showdown between the best eight players age 21 and under.
But at 22, both were still two of the younger players in the draw among a clutch of 23-year-olds who have already made inroads into the top 20 and beyond, the likes of Dominic Thiem and Lucas Pouille.
However, Kyrgios, who blossomed early—reaching the quarters at Wimbledon in 2014 and at the Australian Open in 2015—had not found the clay of Roland Garros so much to his liking, though he had made Round 3 for the last two years.
In contrast Edmund, despite owning a big serve and big forehand, has always liked the clay. After his first-round win, he said:
“I like playing clay… I like to play with a lot of spin and height, and the clay gives you a lot of results. Especially the surface here, when you do play aggressively and flatten out, I find the clay a lot thinner than other clay courts, so the ball does get through as well.
“Maybe that’s why I’ve had some success here. I have won matches in the senior event and had some success in the juniors.” [He won the junior doubles title.]
It may also have helped Edmund’s cause that Olivo had been forced by fading light to play Tsonga across two days. He had thus had little time to recuperate. But the Argentine came out strongly and the two men exchanged quick breaks before Edmund broke again for 5-3. Olivo did level for 5-5, only to concede the decisive break, 7-5, after 50 minutes.
Edmund, with the momentum, began to play with still more conviction, and broke in the fourth game of the second set. This time Olivo could not break back and the Briton took the set, 6-3, in little more than half an hour. The third set raced away with three breaks to Edmund, 6-1, with a tally of 30 winners.
Little wonder that he was pleased with his performance.
“It felt good. Felt in control of my game. Did what I wanted to do for most of the match… It went really well today under hot conditions—think it really suited me.”
He was then asked about the suggestion of Jim Courier, a Grand Slam champion, in his TV commentary that Edmund had the potential to be a top-10 player.
“Well it’s nice to hear someone like Jim say that. I respect him a lot. Look, people have thrown different numbers around, and it’s nice to hear that stuff. But it’s down to me to put the work in. It doesn’t just happen overnight to get top 10. It has to come from winning matches and beating good players… I want to get to the top of the game one day, for sure, and I know what needs to be done. But it’s nice to hear that stuff. It means they obviously rate you highly.”
Edmund is quietly spoken but quietly confident, and it was expected that he may meet the less quietly spoken, expressive, and hugely talented Kyrgios. But the young Australian, a former No13 at the end of last year, a season during which he won three titles, has suffered wavering confidence and various physical problems since his precocious breakthrough.
That he played man, in Kevin Anderson, who is currently unseeded but a former No10 due to a plethora of recent injuries, did not help his cause. Anderson is a big man, 6ft 8ins, with a big serve and power from the baseline, and he lived with Kyrgios through a long first set before the young man edged it, 7-5.
But Anderson stayed focused despite Kyrgios taking an early break in the second set, and broke back twice to take it, 6-4. A furious Kyrgios smashed his racket to earn a code violation, and then a point penalty, and his concentration was blown. Anderson took full advantage, dropping just three games in the final two sets, 6-1, 6-2.
So instead of the 22-year-old, it will be 31-year-old Anderson who takes on Edmund for the first time, for a place in the fourth round.
Edmund, though, is not the youngest remaining man in the draw. There are two of those #NextGen hopefuls still making inroads here, not just winning their first French Open matches, but going on to win their second ones, too.
The big powerhouse Karen Khachanov and the bespectacled Hyeon Chung are both 21 and ranked third and sixth in the Race to Milan.
Chung broke Denis Istomin seven times, 6-1, 7-5, 6-1, in under two hours, winning 12 points at the net. He will next try his luck against the No8 seed, Kei Nishikori.
Khachanov scored one of the most significant wins of his career so far, beating No13 seed Tomas Berdych, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4, without facing a break point. He will next play Isner, who dispatched Paolo Lorenzi in straight sets.
Both #NextGen players also happen to be in Murray’s quarter.