Kyle Edmund’s nightmare run continues as he suffers third consecutive first-round exit

Kyle Edmund in action

Kyle Edmund’s poor run of form after the tennis restart continues as he made a third first-round exit in a row, going down in straight sets to Yoshihito Nishioka in Cologne.

World No 47 Edmund managed to win only four games – all in the opening set – against Nishioka as he was bagelled in the second with the Japanese player claiming a 6-4, 6-0 victory.

The former British No 1, who won his second career title at the New York Open in February, has won only one match in five tournaments since the end of the tennis hiatus with his solitary victory coming at the US Open.

Nishioka will face either seventh-seeded German Jan-Lannard Struff or Italy’s Marco Cecchinato in the second round.

Meanwhile, American Steve Johnson claimed a first career win over former US Open winner Marin Cilic, winning 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 in their sixth match to set up a clash against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or Damir Dzumhur.

“I wouldn’t say [my game is] the perfect recipe [to beat] Marin,” Johnson said.

“He’s beaten me five times pretty handily, so I’m just happy to get a win today, it works. Changed some things up in the strategy and every day is a new day out here. You have to give it your all.”

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