Kyle Edmund told what he must do to emulate Andy Murray success

ATP Tour

Tennis365
December 21, 2018

Kyle Edmund must toughen up and learn how to win ugly if he is to emulate the success of compatriot Andy Murray, according to Tim Henman.

Edmund has risen to British number one while Murray has fought injury, but he is yet to threaten to scale the heights of the Scotsman, who is set to make his comeback in 2019.

However, Edmund remains Murray’s long-term successor in terms of top-level British men’s tennis, and Henman has some advice on how he can bridge the remaining gap.

“I think Murray is a phenomenal competitor because irrespective of the score, he’s just there point in, point out,” Henman said.

“I think Kyle’s a good competitor and he’s shown that he can be a very good competitor in five-set matches.

“But I think if he can win more matches when he’s not playing particularly well, that defines you as a player.

“If you’re using round numbers you probably around 100 matches in a year.

“You’re going to play 10 matches where you’re going to play brilliantly and you’re going to win, doesn’t really matter what your opponent does.

“You’re going to play 10 matches where you play horrifically and you’re going to lose, but you have 80 matches in the middle.

“They define you, and it’s what percentage that you can win of those.
“The very best win a lot of them, and I think that’s in actual fact where Kyle – through competing a bit better – can make improvements.

“There are a lot of matches and a lot of times where you’re going to play ok but can you find a way to win?

“Kyle does that well because he’s a top 20 player but to go that next level he need to make those improvements.”