Day 9 Highlights Australian Open Tennis

Kyle Edmund. The first time in the

fourth round at Australia. Moving

into his first ever Grand Slam

quarterfinal.

quarterfinal. Kyle Edmund, two match

points. Edmund has done it. He has

wept into the sky. He will keep the

British flag flying in the singles.

It's the day of reckoning for Kyle

Edmund, his seven years on the

professional tour have all been

building up to this, his biggest

challenge yet. A Grand Slam

quarterfinal against one of the best

players in the world, the Bulgarian

Grigor Dimitrov. This tournament has

been a real coming-of-age, he has

had some huge wins on the way to the

quarterfinal, first up beating US

Open finalist Kevin Anderson in five

sets, twice coming from one set

down. Then came Dennis is dim and

who caused a huge upset at Melbourne

Park last year by beating Djokovic

but Edmonds dealt with him in

straight sets. Then came a gruelling

battle with the Georgian. The

mammoth battle. Then his

fourth-round match where he overcame

Italian Andreas Seppi, dropping the

first set on a tie-break then coming

back to win the next 37-5, 7-2, 6-3.

For Kyle Edmund today it is a chance

to rack up his first win against the

top five player, I huge task and

Dimitrov has looked on brilliant

form. Particularly during his

fourth-round win over Nick Krygios

who had the whole crowd behind him

all the way. Such a tight match,

Dimitrov dropping the third set but

winning the other three on

tie-breaks. Huge hitting from both

players. Edmund and Dimitrov

tie-breaks. Huge hitting from both

players. Edmund and Dimitrov have

met twice before in Brisbane and

Washington, DC and history is on the

side of the Bulgarian as Dimitrov

won both.

side of the Bulgarian as Dimitrov

won both. Since then Edmund has been

focusing on his fitness, looking a

lot stronger and he has a new coach

in his corner, Fredrik Rosengren who

has guided the likes of Rob and so

darling and Magnus Norman into the

top five. Edmund is not there yet

but he has been making strides in

that direction. He his ranked inside

the world top 50 at number 49 and

looked to moving back to his career

best ranking of number 40. Win this

and he will be up into the top 30.

So is Edmund up for the challenge?

We join the match at 4-4 in the

first set.

COMMENTATOR:

I love this guy 's

forehand, I love his locks on the

ball. Some of the best you will see

out on right now.

Afriyie

that is a must have shot when you

are playing Dimitrov. Executed to

perfection. I like the way there was

no hesitation, stand and deliver.

Started moving the backhand around a

little bit more in the last 12

months. It was at times just a

little too predictable because it is

a very technically proficient shot

and he kind of got stuck in the 70%

crosscourt, 30% down on the line,

probably not enough to keep his

opponents honest. Feels at times

he's getting closer to 60-40.

Second double fault that is barely

halfway up the net.

He's going to

serve a bit quicker on the second

serve, Edmund doing the right thing,

tactically perfect. Getting after

the second serve, making Dimitrov

away.

Again, being vocal is Edmund, at

precisely the right moment. Sending

a message to Dimitrov. He's in his

grill. Subtly in his grill. He has

two break points as a result.

Very close. Worth a look. Dimitrov

is pretty convinced that this one

has missed the mark. It was a good

strike.

The Bulgarian is correct.

Oh yes! He has absolutely vaporised

that forehand. It's got to be the

biggest of the match and what a time

to do it. When he comes out of the

sit down and he will serve for the

opening set. Look at that, 166

kilometres per hour was the return.

He's put windy on the serve.

It has

to be a winner from where he was. Do

not underestimate how difficult that

is to produce as a shot when it's

that high above your shoulders to

beat somebody like Dimitrov for

peace. An extraordinary winner.

Arguably you won't see a better

forehand winner this year. On

return. That was special.

This match

has come to life. Day nine of the

Australian Open. The first of the

men's quarterfinals. Second break of

serve for Kyle Edmund, broke in the

opening game of the match but got

broken back in the sixth. Trying to

serve it out now.

Just swung at it. Didn't need to.

Maybe just had one eye on his

opponent moving after this. You will

be a bit disappointed. He's better

than that. I wonder if he lost it a

little bit in the shirt of Dimitrov,

it would thoroughly is that bright.

-- it literally is that bright.

The

inside in forehand you are talking

about, beautiful shape to the shot.

We have both got great inside in

forehands. It is so easy for both of

them, they just take the net out of

their vision, they don't have to

worry about it. It's just about

where to put it.

Coached many great players

throughout his

throughout his career, Fredrik

Rosengren.

The forehand returns I was talking

about, does that so well, Dimitrov.

Driving through the return, finding

his opponents backhand which is

often going to be a much slower

first shot after the serve is what

allows him to wrestle control of the

point.

As quick as you like he's got

two break points to break back.

After you've been facing the Nick

Krygios serve does it feel like you

have more time on your coming across

someone who doesn't have the same

sort of velocity? It must.

It's a

different proposition because he

knows Kyle's going to hit him a bit

harder after the serve as well. I

like the serve I'd wait here rather

than the one down the tee but he

probably prefers it a little bit.

That's the one which has been

working well in this tournament thus

far.

It's more difficult for the righty

because you are going over the

higher part of the net.

Textbook tennis.

I just wonder if he

hadn't have fresh air on the first

volley if he would have come in

after of the return. The forehand

was begging to be hit and he backed

off. Just allowed Dimitrov to gain a

little bit of position in the rally

that he didn't really have at that

stage and he turned it around

expertly.

Third chance to break.

Once again I think it's the shape

which has done the damage.

Excellent body serve.

Set point Edmund.

I think it was there. That was a

positive way to lose the set point

if you like. He's shown a lot of

courage so far today so far on the

big points.

That is a very nice, especially

given how awkward the return was.

Aluko passionate years. That is what

I wanted to see. He's so happy, one

of those things they will have been

working on in practice and when it

pays off in the matches you just

feel such aid sense of joy.

Are big first serve delivers the

opening set for Edmund.

He's set to

the good.

Let's see how set number two shakes

out.

Perhaps a little bit

he had a long, hard look at that one

perhaps the body language might have

given something away. No. Close but

not close enough.

That's a nice start. Got to have

selective memory as sports men,

especially in this sport. It raised

that first set and crack on.

You are

back at even. As the set unfolded

generates its own momentum either

way and right now he can look at the

scoreboard and he is 1-0 up. This is

where experience is a huge part of

it for Grigor who will recognise how

well Kyle played in the opening set.

He did the things he could control

very well, eroded a lot of points

off the second serve of Edmund.

I had this at 60-44 Grigor coming

in. Just the fact that Kyle has won

the opening set would probably make

me feel like it's 55-45 Grigor Right

now. He is still the favourite.

now. He is still the favourite.

That

is the mark Pichai win predictor!

Did I tell you I was marketing it?

Again, you are not necessarily going

to see Grigor winning this match

through pure ball striking

shotmaking and winners but

potentially through that type of

scrap. He's become so much better at

it.

Freddie not happy. They expect a lot

from his charge. The serve has

worked well all tournament.

Well proportioned athlete, about six

foot two? Strong legs. That is the

engine room of any tennis player.

Broad shoulders. Don't want to be

too heavy in the upper body, you

have to carry around for a couple of

hours.

That was a smart shot. Kind of

goaded him in and again I think

Dimitrov backs himself to cover that

shot down the line. I know it's a

big forehand but he just gave him

the perfect ball. No pace, low down.

Defence arguably more important than

attack in tennis. Andy Murray would

subscribe to that theory I know. So

it proves to Beaver Dimitrov.

STUDIO: That proved to be the

decisive break, Dimitrov closing the

set 6-3 and levelling the match. The

early exchanges of the third set

went with serve, we rejoin at free

four with Bulgarian serving.

COMMENTATOR: Always nice when you

can win that first point against the

opponents serve.

Yeah, Danny is out

of his chair and I just get the

sense he feels there is a bit of a

flat spot for Dimitrov the way he

moved to the backhand. You look at

the score and think how is that

possible but sometimes there are

certain fluctuations in matches or

certain periods, coming up to just

three minutes shy of two hours and

the way he got out of his chair

suggests he senses something.

A small opening has become a half

chance here for Edmund.

Dani Abalo Gent. That was a good,

solid serve. -- Danny up again.

Controlled placement more than

anything else from Dimitrov. Looking

for a central ball of the backhand.

Now the half chance has become a

gilt-edged opportunity.

Great serve. Given how well that

play worked that love- 30 you

thought he might go back to it but

in his own mind he was thinking

maybe that is exactly what Edmund is

thinking and he threw in something

different.

That has been an accumulation of

pressure from Edmund on the Dimitrov

serve for the last two hours.

You

look back at his match against Kyle

in Brisbane and he served 12 aces

that day but nine double faults and

if you look at his start to the

season it's been a pattern. Six

aces, five doubles against Krygios I

believe. I think it was five aces

and six doubles elsewhere. He has

been struggling on that second serve

all year.

The key in those matches is that

those guys have been able to keep it

close.

Give him plenty of wriggle room and

he doesn't feel the scoreboard

pressure.

That is one of my favourite patterns

of play.

of play. As soon as he hit that

inside out forehand he knew the

foray forward was on. Great urgency

with his feet to take a ball while

it's still above the height of the

net. Makes the volley so much

easier.

Big-time tennis. Big-time point.

Absolutely the right shot here as

well. We talked a little bit about

being semi-conservative with a

forehand at the moment, he's

absolutely smoking it and Freddie

loves it.

Employees under pressure. -- poise

under pressure.

under pressure.

That has popped up

beautifully for Edmund to finish

off.

I love that he did not try to

hit it too hard either. Trusts his

ball control. It has given him set

point. And that serve that has been

working so hard on on the off pays

dividends. At precisely the right

time. Edmund with the 2-1 lead.

STUDIO: Dimitrov and Edmund traded

breaks any tight fourth set, we pick

up the action at 4-4.

COMMENTATOR:

The problem is you have

so much court to cover when you

don't hit it well enough against

Edmund's forehand because he's got

options, over you, around you. He

has just nailed that. I think

Dimitrov took his racket away

because it was so high as it went

past him, but the dip.

Was impressive. As was that. He's

come into this game with a couple of

loose forehand errors in the last

game and he needed to make that. He

misses that and it's either- 30 and

he's in a world of pain,

potentially.

I like the direction of the

backhand. Still aggressive. Like you

said earlier, it's an important shot

for him, not just against Dimitrov.

If he goes down there, more often

than not the opponent has to bring

his forehand into play.

Challenging the call, the ball was

called in.

This was close, the ball

was spinning away. It was taking it

away from the line. He almost looked

like he challenged himself.

like he challenged himself. What is

it? It's out, isn't it?

It looks out

to me. Oh, come on!

Well... It just shows you right

there the margins we are dealing

with in our sport.

How good was that from Hawk-Eye?

Don't know if it was intentional,

but that was magnifying the tension

times ten.

Brilliant, keeping us all

in suspense.

Kyle Edmund, just a decent service

game away now from a place in the

semifinals of the Australian Open.

Leading 5-4 in the fourth set.

This will be one of the biggest

service games of Kyle Edmund's

career. Bidding to record his first

victory against a top five player.

And a place in the semifinals of the

Australian Open up for grabs.

It was an elaborate slice. Not sure

how intentional it was, or whether

there were nerves attached to the

swing or what, but it was certainly

effective.

We can hear a fair bit of wind at

times in the effects microphone,

maybe just throwing Dimitrov off in

his control. Again, another forehand

lost surprisingly.

Once again, a cheap point from

Dimitrov. Edmund will take it with

open arms. Needs a first serve now

again.

How big is that? 13th ace. Edmund at

match point.

He's done it!

Challenging the call

on the right baseline. The ball was

called out.

He's not sure. Kyle

isn't going anywhere. His fitness

coach has said it's out.

Kyle Edmund is a Grand Slam

semifinalist for the first time in

his career. And for the first time,

he takes down Grigor Dimitrov. 6&4,

3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

What a moment for

Kyle. What a tournament this has

been. We have seen the birth of a

couple of stars last night under the

night sky here in Melbourne. Hyeon

Chung coming through against Novak

Djokovic in the daytime here in

Melbourne we see another one taken

unprecedented step in their journey

and their career, as Dimitrov exits

Melbourne this year a round earlier

than last year after that classic

with Rafa Nadal. But for Kyle

Edmund, this is his time.

Kyle, we watched you sit on the

sidelines shaking your head and

taking in the moment. Put into words

what this means to you.

First of

all, it's an amazing feeling, very

happy. With these sorts of things,

you are so emotionally engaged that

you don't really take it in and

enjoy yourself. So at the end, a

hard match, lots of matches so far,

so I just tried to enjoy the moment.

Thanks to all you guys.

CHEERING AND

APPLAUSE

It's my first match on this Court

and it was very special.

Your first

match here at the Rob Lever arena

and your first quarterfinal in a

Grand Slam. You got off to a great

start. You knew Grigor Dimitrov

would come back. What were the keys

to winning this match for you?

He

has played hard matches, he went

back a five set and played a

high-level match against Nick. I

knew it would be tough. I had a dip

in the second set. It was quite poor

tennis at some points. I managed to

break him right at the end in the

third. A little blip in the fourth,

but held my nerve in the last game

and prayed the last ball was out.

I

won't keep you too much longer, but

your new coach, Freddie Rosengren.

We have known him a long time, a

great man and great coach. You got

together at the end of last year.

What has he helped you with in your

game?

My game is an aggressive game

style. I thought a number of times

last year that I was playing OK but

coming unstuck a few times too often

in closer stages. We were trying to

think of what could make the

difference. He's involved, and Mark

back home. And my trainer Ian who I

have been with a long time as well.

Another match on this court in a few

hours' time. Marin Cilic and Rafa

Nadal. Will you watch and what you

think of the match?

Nadal's priority

now is to recover and take care of

his body. Getting ready for

Thursday. When you are having

treatment and getting ready for the

match, there are always TVs around

so you will take it in. Tomorrow is

the day, enjoy its snout, and

tomorrow we'll talk about the match

and get ready for tomorrow.

Enjoy

the moment, in your first Grand Slam

semifinal, Kyle Edmund.

CHEERING AND

APPLAUSE

STUDIO: No complaints from all of

us. Here are a set of figures Kyle

Edmund will never forget, his first

win of a top five player and first

Grand Slam quarterfinal won.

Congratulations from around the

world and those who know him best.

This from his Davis Cup captain Leon

Smith who seems to think last

night's dinner choice was key to his

success. Short and sweet from Andy

Murray, and Marcus

success. Short and sweet from Andy

Murray, and Marcus Willis, who knows

what it is like to be an underdog.

Murray, and Marcus Willis, who knows

what it is like to be an underdog.

He said it was ridiculous behaviour

from Kyle Edmund, in the nicest

possible way. Who saw that coming?

Kyle Edmund beating the odds and

going into the last four of the

Australian Open. To give you an idea

of the pedigree he is mixing with,

his next opponent is either 2014 US

Open champion Marin Cilic or 16 time

Grand Slam champion and world number

one Rafael Nadal. This was a great

contest but it became increasingly

clear Rafa was struggling. He got

the trainer out in the fourth set

and had an extended medical

time-out. He lost the set 6-2. Have

having gone a break down in the

fifth, he retired for only the

second time in 264 Grand Slam

matches. The first semifinal is Kyle

Edmund against Marin Cilic and the

other quarterfinals are yet to be

played, featuring newcomers Tennys

Sandgren of the USA and Hyeon Chung

South Korea, both in their first

quarterfinals. Tomas Berdych plays

in his ninth, and Roger Federer,

incredibly, his 52nd. We'll have

highlights of Kyle Edmund's

semifinal against Marin Cilic on

Thursday at 5pm. Meanwhile, the

first of the women's semifinals is

taking shape. It will feature Elise

Mertens for the first time, the

Belgian recording her first victory

over a top five player, beating

Svitolina of Ukraine. It's the first

time she has made the main draw at

Melbourne Park, and she faces

another stern test against world in

a bid to Caroline Wozniacki who beat

Spain's Suarez Navarro. The other

quarterfinals are yet to play.

Current world number one Halep plays

former world number one Pliskova.

And Angelique Kerber against beaten

US Open finalist Madison Keys.

Highlights from 4:45pm. It could be

a tussle with two powerhouses of the

women's game going head-to-head.

Before that, plenty of other sport

across the BBC to get your teeth

into... We will be building to the

Super Bowl on NFL this week.

Kyle Edmund plays his semifinal on

Thursday, so nervous wait until then

for British tennis fans. Is Kyle

Edmund himself said, it's a good

problem to have. I wonder if he

knows if he wins the semifinal, he

will take over from Andy Murray

British number one. Hmm... Thanks

for watching.

COMMENTARY MONTAGE:

Good start for

the Brit.

He has vaporised that

forehand.

forehand.

First server delivers the

opening set for Edmund.

Oh yes.

Edmund leading 2-1.

This is his

time.

Kyle Edmund is a Grand Slam

semifinalist for the first time in

his career.