Kyle Edmund vs Novak Djokovic looming large but British No1 has a test to pass first

Centre of attention | British hopes in the men’s draw rest on the shoulders of Kyle Edmund
AFP/Getty Images

It is not uncommon for Britain to have just one man standing on day four of Wimbledon but the question remains if there will be one at all going into the second week.

Kyle Edmund takes on Bradley Klahn in the last match on Centre Court today but then, in all likelihood, Novak Djokovic lies in wait in the third round.

And John McEnroe believes the 12-time Grand Slam winner will bring British hopes in the men’s draw to a crunching halt following that weekend encounter.

“He’s going to have a tough time, for me, getting past the third round,” said McEnroe, himself a three-time Wimbledon winner. “I think this year is going to be tough for him to make a big impact at Wimbledon. I don’t think grass is a surface he has quite figured out yet.”

From the moment the draw was made, the prospect of facing Djokovic has hung part-tantalisingly, part-oppressively in front of the Edmund camp.

In Pictures | Wimbledon 2018

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The 23-year-old has confidence from their recent encounter at the Madrid Open, in which Djokovic was surprisingly dispatched in three sets. But the former world No1 showed at Roland Garros and Queen’s that, week by week, he is getting back to the sort of form which has produced three Wimbledon titles in the last seven years.

But the main point in Edmund’s favour, according to former world No1 Mats Wilander, is that Djokovic - who today was facing Horacio Zeballos - is not back to his dominant best just yet.

“The thing about Novak is that he has to win every match because he doesn’t outhit people,” said Wilander, “which Kyle Edmund does with a big serve and that big forehand.

“When you have to fight for every point, as Novak is still doing now, the whole locker room now thinks they have a chance against Novak. He (Edmund) will have the confidence.”

Edmund’s camp have stressed that there is the Klahn match to contend with first, not to mention a clash of sorts between Edmund and his Swedish coach Fredrik Rosengren.

Both appeared in practice in their respective national football jerseys on Wednesday ahead of Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final duel.

Photo: AFP/Getty Images
AFP/Getty Images

But that rivalry aside, Rosengren has been keen to stress Edmund cannot get ahead of himself.

“We are here for a good result at Wimbledon,” said the Swede. “The focus is on that. Of course, he is thinking ‘ah, it can be Djokovic in the third round, I beat him in Madrid’. Every player would think a bit in advance.

“We have to do our job to keep him on track, to get to that match. There’s no point focusing on the third round because we still have a guy to beat in the second round.”

Klahn’s journey to get here has been nothing short of remarkable. Back surgery in 2014 led to 21 months away from the game, a bout of depression and the very real prospect of finding something else to do other than swing a tennis racket in anger.

He therefore takes to Centre Court for the first time with no pressure, unlike Edmund.

“The last Wimbledon draw I played was 2014 and a lot’s happened since then,” explained the American. “I went through a lot of questioning whether I should come back and play tennis. There were a lot of times when I was pretty upset, pretty depressed.

“I started looking at other opportunities but I knew I wasn’t ready to give up tennis, I knew I had a few more moments like this in me.”

With 151 places between him and Edmund in the world rankings, Klahn has his work cut out if he is going to enjoy more moments at Wimbledon this year beyond Centre Court today.

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