preface
Five years later, when you look back at the men's tennis scene in 2018, what will you think? Maybe it's the tears shed by the 36-year-old Federer after winning his 20th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, maybe it's Nadal's victory at the French Open that has become the unprecedented "eleventh crown", or maybe it is Deyo's strong return to the No.1 throne in the second half of the season. But you should also remember that this is a year of post-95 player blowouts. From the Australian Open at the beginning of the year, Edmond and Zheng Hyun both reached the final four, to Barcelona's Tsitsipas reached the final for the first time. From Churić challenging Djokovic in the shanghai masters final, to Khachanov winning four consecutive top 10s in Paris, to Zverev sweeping Federer and Djokov in London. Compared with Zverev's small fights in the previous two years, the surprises brought to us by the post-95 players in 2018 can be described as endless. It is with them that in 2017, the "big year of tennis", 2018 is not small. Now, it is necessary for us to pay more attention and understand them. This topic reviews the development paths of 11 post-95 players in turn and looks forward to their future to the best of their ability.
Post-95 player tour - Edmund
[Basic Information]
Nationality: United Kingdom;
Date of Birth: 1995.1.8;
Age: 23 years old;
Height: 188cm;
Weight: 83kg.
Not Kyrgios, not the long-established Kyrgios, nor Zverev Jr., who has reached third in the highest world rankings, the name of the first post-95 player to reach the final four of a Grand Slam is somewhat unfamiliar - Kyle Edmund. After all, before the start of the 2018 Australian Open, his world ranking was only 49th. However, he picked out the US Open runner-up and No. 12 seed Anderson in the first round. A week later, just when it was thought that Dimitrov would reach the australian open semi-final four for two consecutive years, Edmund unexpectedly eliminated the No. 3 seed 3-1. Although losing to Cilic in the semi-finals, Edmund has written his name into the history of post-95 players. But until now, he still doesn't seem to have earned a reputation that matches this achievement.
From the qualifiers of the Chinese Open two years ago to the No. 5 seed of the Chinese Open this year; from the obscure British youngster to replace Murray as a British brother in March this year; from the unseeded players of the Australian Open at the beginning of the year to the year-end world rankings have reached 14th, Edmund's rise this year is not fast. In August 2015, 20-year-old Edmond had joined the top 100, but until the beginning of the year, he had hovered between the top 40 and 50 for nearly a year and a half. Edmund's Grand Slam debut was at Wimbledon in 2013, and his best Grand Slam record before this year's Australian Open was the marginal fourth round of the US Open (2016), but more often than not, the first two rounds were out.
Compared to the slightly mediocre years of previous years, 2018 was indeed a year of major breakthroughs for Edmund, but he has not been smooth this year. In the first three Masters tournaments, the Sunshine Double and Monte Carlo, Edmund suffered a "round trip", during which he reached the first final of his career in Morocco, but lost to 300 players from outside. It wasn't until the Madrid Masters that Edmund was somewhat relieved, as he defeated Djokovic in the second round and made it to the top twenty for the first time with the quarter-finals. In the second half of the season, Edmund played steadily and won his first singles title at the European indoor hardcourt ants competition Antwerp, and gradually improved the world ranking to 14th.
Edmund has a foundation in today's men's tennis scene – serves and forehands. In November, the New York Times selected the best active men's player, Edmond ranked fifth, behind Federer, Nadal, Del Potro and Vodasco. Interestingly, in contrast to his own violent style of play, is his low-key personality on and off the pitch. Edmund's expression in the game changed little, and the mood swings were not large. Although he has been sitting firmly in the position of "British brother" for more than half a year, and carries the hope of the future of British tennis, Edmund rarely boasts in front of the media, which is quite reserved. Maybe it is precisely because of this that he has brought us a surprise at the Australian Open this year.
Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Edmund was an all-rounder in sports as a child, practicing football, cricket and swimming in addition to tennis. It wasn't until he was 10 that he decided to focus on tennis, and today's results prove that his decision was the right one. In fact, Edmund still has a lot of room to rise, after all, his current offensive system is still single. If the future still relies only on violent forehands, then his best Grand Slam record in a few years is likely to be fixed in this year's Australian Open Final Four. At the 2019 Australian Open, the Briton had a 720-point guarantee pressure, accounting for a third of his points for the whole year of 2018. If he is not careful, his ranking may drop significantly. The world ranking of 14 is a new beginning for Edmund. (Source: House of Tennis Author: Tony with Beans)