Australian Open: Edmund goes from Dimitrov’s patient to his plunderer

When Grigor Dimitrov was tending to an ailing Kyle Edmund a fortnight ago, he could not have imagined he would later ruin his summer.

Britain’s Kyle Edmund celebrates after his quarter-final win over Grigor Dimitrov

When Grigor Dimitrov was tending to an ailing Kyle Edmund in Brisbane a fortnight ago, he could not have imagined the Brit would later ruin his Australian summer.

The Bulgarian was lauded for his sportsmanship — and his athleticism — when he dashed to ­Edmund’s aid after he fell awkwardly late in the deciding set of their match in the Brisbane International.

At that stage there was some doubt Edmund would be able to play the Australian Open at all. But instead, the 23-year-old from Yorkshire is enjoying the best fortnight of his life, repaying the assistance from Dimitrov by ousting him from the Australian Open yesterday.

In his first outing on Rod Laver Arena, the South African-born right-hander upset the third seed 6-4 3-6 6-3 6-4 to reach a maiden grand slam semi-final.

A concentration dip in the second set aside, Edmund showed remarkable poise to oust his highly fancied rival, with the power of his forehand in particular a factor.

The finest moment came with a delay. On match point, Dimitrov challenged a backhand slice that floated just over the baseline.

The tension on Edmund’s face was apparent as he looked pleadingly to his camp for reassurance that this moment was his.

After shaking Dimitrov’s hand, Edmund basked for a moment in the afternoon sun, determined to enjoy his stunning ascension.

“It is an amazing feeling. I am very happy. With these sort of things you are so emotionally engaged that you don’t take it in,” he said.

“I just really tried to enjoy the moment. It is my first match on this court and it was very special.”

Edmund became the sixth British man in the Open era to reach a grand slam semi-final, joining Roger Taylor, John Lloyd, Greg Rusedski, his Davis Cup teammate Andy Murray, and Tim Henman, who was watching in the stands.

The 47th ranked player, who is yet to win an ATP title, will play the winner of last night’s Rafael Nadal-Marin Cilic quarter-final.

Edmund will break into the world’s top 30 as a result of his victory yesterday, which ensures there will be two unseeded players vying for a spot in the final.

The other will be either emerging Korean talent Hyeon Chung or American Tennys Sandgren, who play their quarter-final today.

The winner of that clash will then face the victor in Roger’s Federer’s 26th match against Tomas Berdych.

Edmund had endured a difficult path through the tournament but it clearly helped against Dimitrov, who failed to produce an effort as strong as his victory over Nick Kyrgios.

Edmund showed he was over the ankle injury when he defeated Kevin Anderson in five sets on the opening day of the tournament.

After thrashing Denis Istomin, who upset Novak Djokovic a year ago in Melbourne, Edmund defied sizzling conditions when he won another five-set clash, against ­Nikoloz Basilashvili.

He came from behind to topple Andreas Seppi before outpointing Dimitrov yesterday.

The Bulgarian, a semi-finalist in Melbourne a year ago, ended 2017 by winning the ATP Tour ­Finals in London. But he has failed to serve well this summer, the victory over Kyrgios aside, and it again proved an achilles heel yesterday.

“Definitely that’s one of the things I’ve struggled a lot (with) in the past week,” Dimitrov said.

“That’s one thing I know if I can turn around, make sure I’m a bit more consistent. I can only blame myself for that.”

But he was keen to ensure that Edmund was recognised for the quality of his play.

“Kyle deserves all the respect. He deserved to win, simple as that,” he said. “He’s been working so hard the past months. I’ve seen that. He’s the winner.”