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Kyle Edmund, Aegon Championships, ATP Queen's Club London 2017
Mike Frey/BPI/Shutterstock/REX/Shutterstock | Kyle Edmund 2017

Kyle Edmund looks to hit the ground running in Asia, plays Tomic in Chengdu

Jake Davies
Tennis

By Jake Davies

  • Kyle Edmund [6] vs Bernard Tomic
  • H2H: First Meeting
CHENGDU, CHINA – Kyle Edmund makes his return to the tour after injury cut short his US Open campaign, and he starts against the unpredictable Bernard Tomic.

 

Kyle Edmund [6] vs Bernard Tomic H2H: First meeting

The US hard court swing was a memorable one for Kyle Edmund, but it didn’t end in the way that it started. After phenomenal weeks in Atlanta and Winston Salem, Edmund’s US Open run ended with injury in the third round as he pulled out to Canada’s Denis Shapovalov.

His first tournament during the Asian swing is at the Chengdu Open where he is the No.6 seed and faces a former Wimbledon quarter-finalist in Bernard Tomic in the first round. It has been quite the free fall for Tomic’s ranking inside the last twelve months. Some have questioned is commitment to the sport and whether he has enough drive to reach the lofty heights and standards that many Australian legends have set before his time.

Tomic, who is now No.146 in the world rankings, is not the greatest of movers on the court, but even throughout his rapid decline in the rankings he still offers a lot to the game. He has the ability to disrupt a lot of the rhythm of his opponent with his crafty backhand slice. It works well because of the variation in pace he injects in the rally, but it also allows him to get into a greater court position for the next shot.

It will be an interesting battle. Neither Edmund or Tomic have played any tennis since the US Open. Edmund has big points at the China Open in Beijing looming in the distance, where he made the quarter-finals last year, so that will be firmly in his mind, going into the Asian Swing.

After Liam Broady enjoyed such a wonderful week in St.Petersburg last week, can Edmund keep the British success coming in Chengdu?

Prediction: Edmund in three sets

Edmund and Tomic are scheduled not before 4pm (9am BST).

Main Image: Mike Frey/BPI/Shutterstock/REX/Shutterstock