Kyle Edmund: 'I have nothing to lose against Novak Djokovic, I have beaten him'

In the US Open's second round, world no. 1 Novak Djokovic takes upon Kyle Edmund on Wednesday. It will be the seventh meeting between the two, with Novak scoring five wins and suffering the only loss in Madrid 2018 when he was still on a comeback trail. The Serb has won all 24 matches so far in 2020, winning the ATP Cup for Serbia and lifting three singles titles at the Australian Open, Dubai and Cincinnati. Novak is seeking the 18th Major crown in New York in the absence of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, hoping for another strong run at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Complex after winning the Cincinnati title there last Saturday. Novak defeated five rivals to claim the 35th Masters 1000 trophy, completing a Career Golden Masters for the second time following a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 triumph over Milos Raonic, gathering boost ahead of the US Open where he seeks the fourth title.

Kyle Edmund will try to beat Novak Djokovic for the second time after Madrid 2018.

Edmund will try to end Djokovic's streak in the second round, proving he can compete against the Serb and looking forward to their upcoming clash. In the first match in New York, the Briton had to work hard against a hard-hitting Kazakh Alexander Bublik, prevailing 2-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-0 in two hours and 47 minutes. Bublik had the upper hand in the opener, with Kyle taking the second set with a late break and finding himself 5-4 down in the third. The Briton stole the set with three games in a row, extending that streak to nine as Alexander faded from the court in set number four. Eager to make much further run than in 2019 when he retired in the fourth round, Novak took down Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 in his first test, leaving the court in under two hours. Dominating sets one and three, Novak got broken once in the second and stole Damir's serve seven times from 19 opportunities, more than enough to move over the top and make a winning start at the second Major of the season. 

"It's a match for me where I've got nothing to lose. I have the experience of beating Novak, but he has beaten me a bunch of times. He's a top competitor and the type of player who is tough to break down. Beating Bublik was nice in terms of mentality. I play well when I'm expressing myself. When I start matches not in the right way, I have to force that out of me. It was a good match to win. I could have fallen off and gone down two sets to love or two sets to one," Kyle Edmund said.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2QLEyj5