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WIMBLEDONJune 24, 2013Kyle EdmundLONDON, ENGLAND J. JANOWICZ/K. Edmund THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. What did you think of your first experience of the All England main draw? KYLE EDMUND: It was a tough experience. It was very tough out there to get much rhythm, sort of ease into the tournament. He's such a big player, hits the ball really hard. And if you're not on it 100%, it's very tough. I still played okay, I thought. But at that level, I think I need to play better to win. But, yeah, I mean, I don't think anyone wants to draw him first round 'cause he's such a dangering guy, if you want to put it that way. Yeah, in terms of all the support and stuff, it was great to play on that court. My first Wimbledon, I couldn't ask for anything more. It's a day I'll never forget to play my first Wimbledon here. So it was a really good experience. Q. I know you practiced with some of the world's top players. Have you ever consistently suffered power coming across the net so consistently? KYLE EDMUND: No, not to that extent in that sort of power. You know, he's so powerful. He's a big guy. His serve, if you got back, then his forehand, his backhand was coming over hard. You always knew you were going to have to run and get the ball back as much as possible. Then when you do have time to get on the ball, you have to take advantage of that, because you don't get time often. Yeah, I knew it was going to be a tough match. Yeah, I wish maybe I could have played a little bit better. But, you know, it is tough. It was a different kind of match to the Simon match I played where he doesn't hit the balls hard and he makes more balls, maybe not as many errors. But today he played some big tennis. Q. There was a spell where it got away from you, but in the final set you made him serve it out, saved those match points? You could have just folded. KYLE EDMUND: Yeah, I think so. I mean, yeah, I don't think I was going to fold. I was going to keep fighting. My mindset was to get as many games as possible, to be honest. Each point, I was just facing one point, not trying to come back. I was just facing one point in each game. So, yeah, it was a tough day. I'm disappointed I lost, but I can't lose sight of the long‑term goal. These three weeks, how invaluable they are for me. I feel I've improved actually in these threes weeks, playing some of the top players in the world. So, yeah, I can't lose sight of that. You know, it's not over. I'm still in the doubles and I'm still playing the juniors next week. So there's still lots of tennis to come. Q. In terms of what you have to develop, what has the last three weeks taught you? KYLE EDMUND: Just to bring it every day, to be honest. You know, there's no let‑up. These guys, you know, they keep going. They're relentless the way they hit, especially today, Janowicz. You know, it's different. You know, in juniors, you do get some games where they give it to you or you give it to them sometimes. So, you know, you need to avoid giving them as many games as possible and they don't give you anything. So I think that's the main thing. But, yeah, these three weeks, every match I thought I've come off feeling pretty good how I played. Today's probably the first time I've come off like really disappointed. But having had a bit of time to reflect, I played okay. I mean, the scoreline shows I got beat pretty comfortably. But, you know, I had a few breakpoint chances. You know, some of the stats, I served pretty well but wasn't effective enough. And my second serve he was getting on top of. There are areas which I need to improve on. If there wasn't areas to improve on, there would be something wrong. I'm pleased I can take something away from it and improve on it. Q. What is the experience like, the first morning of your first Wimbledon? Are there extra nerves just walking in the place? Does it make you feel 10 feet tall? KYLE EDMUND: I was pretty nervous this morning, actually, which I didn't think I was going to be 'cause I wasn't nervous going into my other matches. But today I was quite nervous. Q. A good nervous probably. KYLE EDMUND: Yeah, exactly. It's good to be nervous. Yeah, this morning I woke up, did all my normal routines and stuff. But, yeah, it was just something, coming here, it's obviously a bit different. So hopefully I can get used to that as much as possible. But, yeah, to be playing my first Wimbledon at 18 years old, it was a great feeling. So, yeah, I'll never forget it. Q. Greg Rusedski, has he helped you with the mental side of things, as well, with the pressure of the big stage? KYLE EDMUND: Well, working with Greg is great because he's been there. He knows where it's sort of at. So he has helped me with those sort of things. I don't work with Greg all the time. Colin Beecher is my first coach. He's there every day. I contact him every day. Greg's there just to give some advice and help me in some certain areas. I like to have that variation where you do get a different‑‑ you know, sometimes when you're working with someone that is very intense, then someone that just comes in and has an opinion on things can help because they're looking from the outside. So he just helps. You know, to be able to have someone like Greg Rusedski helping you is very fortunate for me. So everything he says I take on board. Yeah, he said to me, I didn't play my first Wimbledon until I was 20. He remembers he was very nervous. So he said to me, you know, to come out here and put in a performance like that, be proud of yourself. He knew I was disappointed, but he said, You didn't play badly; you played well. The scoreline doesn't really reflect the match. He's very positive. You know, I'm thankful for that, that he's willing to help me. Q. Greg has been saying good things about you, as well as Andy and Tim. How important is that to you, those words? KYLE EDMUND: Yeah, it's all positive. These guys, they're not going to say it for the sake of saying it. So everything they do say, I take on board. When they are positive, it's great. If I'm getting something wrong, they tell me. That's the best thing, that they don't cover up cracks and stuff, cover over. They address it. I think that's why it is a healthy relationship. So, yeah, Greg helping me, all the team from the LTA, they're very supportive. Over these few weeks, they've been great. Throughout the whole year, in fact. I can't ask for anything much more. Q. What are your goals for the remainder of the year in terms of ranking? Have you set targets for that? KYLE EDMUND: No, I don't set ranking targets. I feel if I'm a good enough player to get the ranking, I'll get there because you're good enough. But my goals are to continue to improve my ATP ranking, which it is. So I've got to keep heading in the right direction. In terms of juniors, I'm only going to play Wimbledon and US Open. So two junior events. Then a lot on the futures/challenger tours. Yeah, mostly ATP. Q. If you look at the average age for the men's tour, it seems to have gone up over the last two years. Younger players are finding it harder to break in. What would you put that down to? KYLE EDMUND: Well, I don't think younger players are fully developed, firstly. The guy today, he's a big guy. I'm still growing. And I think, you know, he's stronger than me as well. I think that's one side of it. But also these guys, as they get older, they get more experience. I think they're able to cope with different situations and pressures better than younger guys at the minute. You know, say, like they've been around more, longer. They just do certain things in situations maybe a few percent better. It's not much, but they do it better, and I think that's the main thing. You know, each area they might serve big in tight situations, which gets them out of trouble, or they come up with good shots. Like today he came up with some really good shots. He was the better player today, so he deserved to win. You know, it's tough for me to say other players, but the players I played, you can see why they are where they are at. Simon last week is such a good fighter, didn't give me anything. And today Janowicz played a big game, so you see why they do get some success. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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