Twenty-one year old Kyle Edmund booked his place in the second round of the Australian Open for the first time in his career with a 6-2, 7-5, 6-3, win over Santiago Giraldo. Edmund will face thirtieth seed Pablo Carreno Busta on Thursday for a place in the third round.
Edmund came out firing straight away, racing away with the first set in only half an hour as Giraldo struggled to deal with the power of the Brit. Giraldo fought hard in the second set but a loose game at the worst possible time gave Edmund the late break that secured the set. The third set was a repeat of the first as Edmund took control again, finishing the match with forty-four winners.
Dominant display from Edmund
Edmund served first to get the match underway, firing three forehand winners as he came through a quick hold. The Brit kept his aggressive start going on the return, bossing Giraldo around the court with huge groundstrokes giving him an early break lead. There was nothing that the Columbian could do to deal with Edmunds firepower as a love hold seen the Brit race away with a 3-0 lead. Edmund was firing winners from the baseline
Giraldo was made to work hard by Edmund for his first hold but much better hitting from the Columbian brought him through a tight game on his third game point. The Brit kept his lead intact with an easy hold. Another scorching forehand winner down the line gave Edmund a 0-30 lead on return. Giraldo managed to fight his way to 30-30 but a backhand into the net from the Columbian brought up another break point. Giraldo pushed back to deuce but Edmund took advantage of a couple of short balls from the Columbian, firing two more crushing forehand winners in a row to take a 5-1 lead.
A horrible service game from Edmund handed Giraldo one of the breaks back. The Brit recovered in the next game, some more stunning winners bringing him through another break of Giraldo's serve to take the first set 6-2.
Tightly contested second set
Both players came through a solid hold each, Giraldo ending Edmund's run of games at three in a row with a love hold. The Brit looked to be cruising through a love hold but a string of errors left the pair at deuce. Edmund pulled Giraldo out wide and crunched the forehand down the line winner to bring up a game point but the Columbian quickly brought them back to deuce. Two big serves brought Edmund out of the tricky game with a 2-1 lead.
Giraldo was having no trouble on serve so far in the second set, sealing a second love hold in a row with an ace as Edmund's return intensity had dipped. Big serves from the Brit seen him come away with a much better hold to stay ahead. There was still no way through on return for Edmund as excellent serving from Giraldo gave him an easy hold.
Two errors from the Brit gave Giraldo a 0-30 lead on return in the next game. Two great serves while under pressure from Edmund leveled the pair at 30-30 and a stunning forehand winner brought up a game point. Great defending and a backhand winner sealed the game point and another crucial hold of serve for the world number forty-six. Edmund got his first return points of the set with a brutal forehand blow and an error from Giraldo but the Columbian still managed to hold on and level the pair at 4-4.
Edmund nudged back in front with another solid hold of serve, forcing Giraldo to serve to stay in the set. A double fault from the Columbian tied the pair up at 15-15 and Edmund fired a forehand winner crosscourt to go into the lead. A big serve leveled the pair again but another punishing forehand down the line winner brought up a set point for the Brit. An outstanding angle on the backhand from Giraldo and more excellent serving brought Giraldo away with the impressive hold.
There were no signs of disappointment for Edmund as he fired two aces on his way through a love hold to put the pressure back on Giraldo. Three errors from the Columbian brought up another three set points for Edmund and an erratic backhand error handed the Brit the second set 7-5.
Finishing in style
Edmund kept his momentum going into the third set with a love hold. Giraldo fought to fend off two break points but his building frustration was unleashed in the next game as he demolished his racket after another error. Edmund wasn't distracted by his opponent's struggles and sailed through another hold to lead 2-1.
Giraldo was struggling on serve as Edmund again took the lead. The Columbian came out on top of a grueling point at 15-30 to regain control on serve and battle through the hold. The Brit came through a good hold but Giraldo replied with a very impressive hold of his own as he raised his intensity level.
The Columbian was still fighting to stay in the match but wasn't having any luck on the return as Edmund once again sailed through an easy hold. The Brit piled the pressure on his opponent's serve and fired an outstanding backhand passing shot to bring up two break points. The first was lost but he took the second with another perfect forehand down the line to break for a 5-3 lead. The Brit couldn't have wished for a much better end to the match, firing down three aces in a row to secure the third set 6-3 and a place in the second round in Melbourne for the first time.