Kyle Edmund happy to be centre of attention at Wimbledon after opening day win

Kyle Edmund was happy to build on a blossoming relationship with Centre Court as he got his Wimbledon campaign up and running in comfortable fashion.
Kyle Edmund celebrates winning his match.Kyle Edmund celebrates winning his match.
Kyle Edmund celebrates winning his match.

The British No 1 closed the opening day’s play on the main show court with a 6-4 6-4 6-4 win over Spaniard Jaume Munar.

It is just the 24-year-old’s fourth outing on Centre and it is an experience he would like to get used to.

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“On Centre Court, it is always a great experience,” he said after setting up a second-round meeting with Fernando Verdasco. “You always remember every match you play there.

“The more you play on there, obviously you just feel more comfortable with your surroundings and the court.

“Any time you play on Centre Court it’s just an amazing honour and feeling.

“Like I said before, you should never take it for granted. It’s just really special.

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“You know you’re on Centre Court, you’re obviously concentrated on the match. Still inside, it’s pretty cool playing on Centre Court.”

Edmund came on to court after women’s second seed Naomi Osaka had been dumped out by Yulia Putintseva, but even though he got off to a scratchy start, losing the first two games, there was never much chance of another shock.

Fresh from his run to the semi-final at Eastbourne he looked in good shape, peppering 45 winners off both wings, though he had to work hard for the win.

He needed 10 attempts to claim the first set and then squandered a 5-1 lead in the third, but he was happy to get the job done.

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“It was great for me. Coming through in straight sets, I had to work hard for it, for sure,” he added.

“It was nice to get the ball rolling and get some momentum. Different reasons this year, I just haven’t played a lot of consecutive matches of tennis this year,” he added.

“It is nice. It is good to win the first round, but you want to win more.

“It’s no good just winning one round each time you come here. There’s always that eagerness to try and keep winning obviously and do your best.”

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Novak Djokovic hopes Goran Ivanisevic can propel him towards a fifth Wimbledon title and beyond.

World No 1 Djokovic has recruited former SW19 winner Ivanisevic to work alongside coach Marian Vajda as they plot his assault on this year’s championships.

Djokovic won six grand slam titles when he was coached by three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker, and he wants to harness the experience of another course and distance winner over the next fortnight.

“I called Goran and asked him whether he’s available to come to Wimbledon and sort of give it a try, and have a little bit of a trial type of tournament where we get to know each other and see how it works,” said Djokovic.

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“I’m really glad he accepted and came over. I don’t know if he will be able to stay for the whole tournament, it depends how I go. He’s got some commitments in the second week.

“But everything so far has been working really well. We’ve known each other for a long time. It didn’t take too much time for us to really feel comfortable one next to another.”

The new team got off to a winning start, despite a wobble or two, as defending champion Djokovic wore down Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber in three sets.

The Serbian, widely expected to enjoy another trouble-free run to this year’s final, dropped serve at the start of the first two sets but recovered from those early blips to run out a 6-3 7-5 6-3 winner.

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Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas, the supposed next generation of men’s tennis, were shock casualties in the first round at Wimbledon.

Djokovic’s potential path to the final looks even clearer after the young guns, both in the defending champion’s half of the draw, fired blanks.

Sixth seed Zverev went down in four sets 4-6 6-3 6-2 7-5 to qualifier Jiri Vesely, the world No 124.

Around 20 minutes later Tsitsipas, having saved two match points in the fourth set, succumbed to the third as he was turfed out 6-4 3-6 6-4 6-7 (8) 6-3 by Italian Thomas Fabbiano.

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Last year’s runner-up Kevin Anderson eased into round two after a straight-sets win 6-3 6-4 6-2 over Pierre-Hugues Herbert. Three-time grand-slam winner Stan Wawrinka made short work of Belgian Ruben Bemelmans, the Swiss roaring to a 6-3 6-2 6-2 victory in less than an hour and a half.

Wild card Feliciano Lopez carried on from where he left off after his singles and doubles win at Queen’s Club, beating Marcos Giron in straight sets to get his 70th consecutive grand slam off to a flying start.

In the all-Canadian affair on Court 12 - on Canada Day - teenager Felix Auger-Aliassime won his first grand slam match against Vasek Pospisil.

The 18-year-old, seeded 19 after a remarkable rise up the rankings in the past year, dropped the first set but recovered to win 5-7 6-2 6-4 6-3.