Marin Cilic predicts big future for defeated Kyle Edmund

Marin Cilic believes Kyle Edmund can only go from strength to strength after knocking him out of the Australian open. 

The Croatian defeated Edmund in the semi-final on Thursday, winning the match fairly comfortably in straight sets.

However, he believes Edmund’s more physically challenging route to the semis was a key factor, and insisted he was a talent worth keeping an eye on.

“He’s playing great tennis,” he said. “The last couple of years he’s improved a lot and started great this year.

“He had an extremely tough run to the semis, a couple of five-setters and a couple of four-setters as well. Definitely it left some scars on his body. I can feel that too, but definitely he’s got a bright future in the game and we’re going to be seeing him a lot.”

Cilic was rarely in danger during the game, and never dropped a service game to the Brit, but he was happy to battle through a tough second set and cited it as a key stage of the contest.

“In the second set I was up and down with my game, not getting enough returns back and he started to serve quite well and release his forehands.

“But I just stayed mentally very focused and tried to play every single point. It was extremely crucial in the tie-break to keep that pressure.”