By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday August 1, 2022
After two years of horrendous struggle, Kyle Edmund has found his way back to the winner’s circle on the ATP Tour.
The former World No.14, who has undergone three knee surgeries over the last two years, is finally fit and he showed off his resurgent form on Monday at the Citi Open, where he defeated Yosuke Watanuki, 6-4, 7-6(8).
“It’s just very rewarding,” said Edmund after the match, which marked his first tour-level win since the 2020 US Open. “There were long periods where I was just out, couldn’t play, didn’t pick a racquet up for five months – it wasn’t fun at all.
“These sort of matches and these events are something you imagine, when you’re out, being there. I watched too many matches on TV. I always pictured myself being out here and today I was out here playing my first tour event in a very long time.”
Edmund saved five of six break points and battled back from 4-2 down in the second set to set up a second-round match with Dan Evans in D.C.
“I didn’t find it easy today, he’s a tricky player, very energetic. I just kept in there and I just told myself that I’ve been out too long and worked too hard just to not be there. Even the second set, I went down very quickly. I just sort of hung in there, and got my reward in the end.
“I just got my opportunities and tried to take them.”
Edmund, who missed a total of 21 months due to his injuries, is happy to feel the warm embrace of tennis’ endless summer once again.
“It’s something that you miss, just feeling the buzz, hearing the crowd, it sounds weird, even just playing tennis when there’s pressure – it’s great to be playing, there are some things I need to do better but you only get better by putting yourself in these situations, and just experiencing it and keep learning from it,” he said.
And having missed all that time, his feelings for the sport have been strengthened.
“It showed me that I loved the game,” he told the ATP. “If I didn’t love it, it would have been easy to walk away. There were plenty of opportunities to do that.”
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