ANDY Murray has backed Kyle Edmund to continue his rise up the tennis world rankings – providing he keeps working hard and remains patient.
Murray is a big fan of the Tickton teenager and has regularly used him as a practice partner over the past couple of years when their busy schedules have coincided.
Edmund only stopped playing junior tennis at the end of last year. He has since been playing in Futures tournaments around the world for players ranked lower than 250. Having recently crept inside the top 250 Edmund will now start playing Challenger tournaments which are one rung down from the main ATP level consisting of the very best players in the world.
"In terms of Kyle's progress there have been parts of the year when he's been playing some good tennis," Murray told the Mail. "I practiced with him at a couple of the Davis Cup ties and he was playing good and striking the ball well.
"I obviously haven't seen him play loads of matches because our schedules don't match, but he's making that step up now from playing the Futures to the Challengers and it takes a little bit of time to get used to that level because it's a higher level.
"In the Futures tournaments you will be getting seeded and might be playing guys that are ranked at 900 in the world, whereas in the Challengers he is coming up against players ranked 100 in the world, 150 in the world, around there. So it takes a bit of time. He just needs to be patient, work hard, and hopefully he will keep improving."
Edmund, who turned 19 at the start of the year, lost in the first round of the Wimbledon men's singles on Monday to Andreas Haider-Maurer of Austria but managed to retain a healthy sense of perspective afterwards, aware that he is on a steep learning curve.
With Murray in his corner providing advice and inspiration he is also more determined than ever to become a top 100 player and maybe even give the Scotsman a run for his money one day.
"He (Murray) is great with me and when someone like that gives you encouragement you take real confidence from it," says Edmund. "It just shows how grounded he is. He went through the same stage so he knows how tough it is to make that transition. He's great for support and I really appreciate it. It would be wonderful to achieve even a fraction of what he's managed to do."
