Edmund upbeat despite Wimbledon exit

 

Originally published on 06/07/17 00:00

“You watch so many matches on Centre Court,” said the British No.2, who went down 7-6(1) 6-4 6-4. “It's one thing saying you're going to be on Centre, or looking at the atmosphere, and actually experiencing it is another thing.

“So yeah, I enjoyed it. I didn't enjoy the loss, but I enjoyed the experience, being on the biggest court. I'm sure a lot of players would say the biggest court in the world.”

Edmund was bidding to join fellow Britons Andy Murray, Aljaz Bedene, Johanna Konta and Heather Watson in the third round, already the largest contingent of home-grown players to reach the last 32 at The Championships since 1997.

But Monfils displayed his big-match mentality when it mattered, collecting the odd break in three in both the second and third sets after running away with the opening tie-break.

Nevertheless, it was a decent day at the office for Edmund, who bounced back from an early loss at Queen’s to claim his first victory at Wimbledon, beating qualifier and fellow Brit Alex Ward in the first round, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1.

Even if it didn’t end with the result he wanted against Monfils, the world No.50 said it was an experience he believes will benefit him in the future.

“In the past I have played on big courts and come off saying I didn't quite get my game going, or only got going later on in the match,” said the 22-year-old. “It was nice I got going quite quickly. Obviously the first set was tight with the tiebreak, and close break points in the first set. If I broke I would have been serving for it.

“As well, I think Gael played a pretty good match, like he was pretty solid. I made a lot more errors than he did, but that's my game and that's the way I play. I just got it wrong a few times.

“It was a great match to learn from,” he added. “I got my game out on court, which is something I wanted to do, and just a bit of lack of maturity at this stage – a few shots in certain points or match situations just needed to be better on. I'm only 22 years old, I don't know all the answers. That's why it's a great thing to learn from.”

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