By David Awopetu
Kyle Edmund won a physical battle against Andy Murray in a high-quality encounter at Battle of the Brits to reach the semi-final on Wednesday night.
Murray, playing his second match since November, pushes world No 44 to a championship tie-break in a top-quality match at National Tennis Centre
Murray looked good early on and took the first set on a tie-break, but Edmund came flying back in a nip and tuck clash to win it 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-5) 10-5.
There were no breaks of serve in the first 12 games, but Murray was the better player in the breaker and took it 7-2.
The encounter was billed as a good gauge of where Murray is after a pelvic injury and there were some positives.
The six-day charity event, organised by Murray’s brother Jamie, is at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton.
Three-time Grand Slam champion, Murray, has slipped to 129 in the rankings because of injury lay-offs but Edmund said he still felt under pressure against him.
There were some reassuring glimpses of the Murray who was world number one before hip surgeries and pelvic injuries derailed his career, a classic double-handed backhand down the line sealing the opening point in the second-set tie-break.
But there were signs of fatigue too and as the mistake count rose, so did the volume of the mutterings to himself – even more audible on a court with no fans because of the coronavirus pandemic.
While this performance answered some of the questions over how competitive Murray can be, the next one will provide clues as to how well his body can cope with three matches in three days.
