The 2018 Australian Open is worthy of the so-called Happy Slam sobriquet so many ATP players have agreed upon over the years. While some stars did not have the best time at Melbourne Park, players like Kyle Edmund, Tennys Sandgren or Hyeon Chung, they all can use the first Major of the season as a launching pad for their future endeavors.
Kyle Edmund is bearing the flag of British tennis as the last remaining name both in men's and women's singles. Some may have feared of a British fiasco in Melbourne, but the 23-year-old new sensation is having quite a breakthrough.
He is only one win away from surpassing Andy Murray and becoming the No.1 Brit male tennis player.
Kyle Edmund secured a spot in the last four at the Australian Open
The tide seems to be working in the Brit's favor as he outplayed yet another well-established ATP star. Ranked third in the world and the third seed in Australia, Grigor Dimitrov was seeking to match last year's result in Melbourne when he made it to the semis only to lose a dramatic encounter against Rafael Nadal. Dispatching Nick Kyrgios in the previous round put Dimitrov on higher ground for the quarterfinals. But, another glory seeker was standing at the other end of the court. He was determined to avenge those previous two losses against the Bulgarian, the most recent one occurring only a few weeks ago in Brisbane.
Once the match started it was clear that the Brit is determined to make the most out of the current situation. He went on to win the opening act only to see Dimitrov bouncing back to level the score. The third set saw Edmund maintaining an elevated pace while Dimitrov started to flounder, especially on his own serve. Inevitably, a break of serve surfaced allowing the Brit to walk away with the set.
Under constant pressure, and with the panic of potentially losing an accessible matchup crawling in the back of his mind, the third seed lost the strings as Edmund was able to secure the biggest win of his career.
Can Kyle succeed where Andy Murray failed so many times in the past?
Winning over Grigor Dimitrov has to be the end of the coincidence plate.
Aged 23, Kyle Edmund is becoming a pillar of men's tennis and he might as well complete a stunning run at the 2018 Australian Open. He is just two steps away from reigning supreme in Melbourne, but, it's still early to make a fair prognosis. In the semis, he will face either Rafael Nadal or Marin Cilic and, in the event of a presence in the final on Sunday, Kyle may face the defending champion, Roger Federer.
Basically, if he goes all the way at Melbourne Park, he will be breaking the curse that prevented British success in Melbourne. Let's not forget that Andy Murray is a five-time former runner-up in Australia, an impressive record, and a true curse. Over the years, Murray has shown a great deal of consistency but he has never able to find that last missing ingredient. This time, Kyle Edmund might be the dark horse who will break the chains and unlock Melbourne success.
