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AEGON INTERNATIONALJune 19, 2013Kyle EdmundEASTBOURNE, ENGLAND G. SIMON/K. Edmund THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Despite the defeat, you must be absolutely delighted with your performance again. KYLE EDMUND: Yeah, I was. I played a pretty good match, I thought. I went out there and I played well the other day, so I thought if I just put my game on court like I did on Monday, I would, you know, that would be the best way of giving myself a chance to win. I did. I served well again, and, you know, he was a completely different player to the guy I played on Monday, so, yeah, it was a different game style I had to play. But, I mean, I put everything out there, and it was really good match. Even though I lost, I was still very pleased with the way I played. Q. Did it mean a lot more to play that well against a player who is obviously so highly ranked? KYLE EDMUND: Yeah, well, it gives you confidence. He's 16 in the world and I got pretty close, so confidence‑wise, you know, it's massive for me, you know, learning, going up the ranks of tennis. It shows where I can play, and I've just got to use this as a positive. I mean, I remember two years ago hitting with him at Stoke Park and he beat me 6‑Love in the set, so two years on I got there. Obviously I'm disappointed I lost, but I'm still pleased. Q. Have you been surprised at all how your game stood up so well against the top guys this week? KYLE EDMUND: Yeah, I mean, I think the good thing is I didn't overplay this week. I just played how I'd normally play. I didn't feel uncomfortable out there, so I think that's a big positive knowing that when I do go out there I don't have to overplay or play special. I just have to play my game. So I will just continue to do that moving forward. Q. Do you get nervous playing players of that caliber or are you focused on yourself? KYLE EDMUND: No, today I wasn't that nervous, because I think, you know, sitting around wondering if I get nervous, I don't really play well. At the start it's tough to get going. So when you don't get going and you go down maybe a break or a double break against these players it's no good, so you have to be ready from ball 1. These guys, you know, they are ready from ball 1. So if you're not, you're going to pay the price. So after my win on Monday, you know, I was feeling good and stuff, so I wasn't worried about my game, really. Q. Are you going to begin to fall in love with grass? KYLE EDMUND: Yeah, well, I'm playing well in it, so unfortunately you can't play on grass through the whole year. It's just four weeks. But, yeah, it's obviously my third year on grass and last year I had a good win. This year I had another good win, another really good performance today. I seem to be adapting well. Q. You even seemed to have the British sea gulls on your side. KYLE EDMUND: Oh, yeah. Q. If you could choose for Wimbledon, would you like Centre Court or just play on an outside court? KYLE EDMUND: I mean, it's Wimbledon. I'll play on any court. (Smiling.) If I play on Centre Court it would be amazing, but the chance of getting support on an outside court is just as good, and I mean, I'll be ready to play on anything, but if I get to play on Centre it would be an amazing experience. Q.  Tell me about today briefly. Is losing in two tiebreaks all the same a great performance but all in all a bit frustrating? KYLE EDMUND: Yeah, you could say because I lost in two tiebreaks it is frustrating because I could have won. Even though I'm looking at positives, I'm not like, Oh, I'm happy I lost. I'm disappointed I lost. I don't think the tiebreaks I played ‑‑I thought the first one was close and I played a pretty good tiebreak. The second one was a little bit sloppy at times. You know, it was after a long match, and both of us were fatigued, I thought. There were just some really long rallies towards the end, and, yeah, he just came out on top. He's got the experience, I mean, as well, so he probably knows how to deal with those situations. Q. How much pressure do you feel at the moment? Because the aura that you give off on court is as someone who is very confident, someone with a much higher ranking. KYLE EDMUND: Yeah, I don't know. It's just ‑‑if, you know, maybe if you act a bit timid, intimidated, you don't really feel you belong there. You're going to get really ‑‑everyone is watching. I don't think you can act intimidated. You have to act confident, and, you know, even if you don't feel as confident, I think you have to bluff it a bit, because it's two guys playing on a tennis court and everyone is watching. Maybe when you walk out you realize where you are, but once you get hitting the ball, which I do day in and day out through the whole year, you just become‑‑ it just becomes natural. It's just habit you get into. Q. The whole experience of the last week or so at Queen's and that first ATP win, how has that been? KYLE EDMUND: Yeah, it's been amazing. Even last week I played well against a good player and I lost. You know, I went back and corrected a few things, got better on the grass, and the win on Monday showed that I was feeling good. And then today as well was another high quality match. These two tournaments, obviously my first tour events, and I got a taste of what they're like. Hopefully I can play more of them in the future. Q. Your feelings going into next week must be very exciting. KYLE EDMUND: Yeah, exactly. He's 16 seed or he's 16 in the world, so, you know, if I get drawn against him it would be a tough draw, and I got close against him, so it shows that if I do get a tough draw I can compete with them and have a chance of winning. But whoever I get, I mean, it's obviously going to be a tough match, because I'm 440 in the world, and they're obviously, what, top 100, most of them. It's going to be a tough match. I know I'm going to have to put my game out there on court like I did these last three matches here. Q. Where do you think you can go from here? Obviously Andy Murray is not going to last forever. You're sort of a young prospect, and people look at you to sort of be the next sort of Grand Slam winner, as well. KYLE EDMUND: How do I feel about that? Q. Yeah. Obviously you've got big shoes to fill when Andy Murray retires. KYLE EDMUND: Well, I remember saying on Monday, you know, he obviously won the Grand Slam for the first time in 76 years, so he's taken a big pressure off us. He's done well for us. But obviously someone has to fill it when he retires. It might be me; might be someone else. I'm not really thinking about that right now, because I'm nowhere near that level at the moment in terms of my ranking. And until I get there, then, you know, it might be a pressure but I don't see it as a pressure. It's just if you go on court and perform, then it's going to take care of itself. Q. There are probably a lot of people now who know you who didn't know you a few weeks ago because of your results and leading up to Wimbledon. Are you ready for that level of interest and expectations? It's a big change for you in such a short period of time. KYLE EDMUND: Yeah, I'm not going to change anything because people know me. I'm still going to stick to my routines and practice hard, play my matches as long as I can. I don't think too much is going to change. There might be a bit more media interest and stuff, but that's all part of the job. Your dream is to become top of the game in tennis, and that is part of the dream. So that's what you signed up for, so I just ‑‑you just deal with it, I think, to be honest with you. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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