Andy Murray left all alone once again as Brits tumble out of Australian Open

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/jan/20/australian-open-day-two-british-players

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The familiar tales of woe, hope and expectation that attend British tennis show no immediate signs of abating, although the flame is flickering teasingly.

After quick early exits at Melbourne Park on day two for Kyle Edmund and Heather Watson, as well as brave James Ward going down in flames in four sets to 31st seed Fernando Verdasco, Andy Murray was left alone again, working his backside off on the practice court.

Officially, the non-Murray campaign at the 2015 Australian Open came to a halt at 3.33pm local time on Tuesday, when Verdasco drew the last drop of resistance from Ward to win 2-6, 6-0, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 in just over two-and-a-half hours. It was a match that could have gone either way, but the Spaniard turned it in his favour mid-match in a gripping tie-break.

Ward, bagelled after taking a quick break to regroup at the end of the first set, revealed later he had been coping with the news of the recent death of his grandmother, although he was not in anyway using that as an excuse. He will return to London for her funeral before going back on the Tour, possibly in Montpellier. “She had been ill and was old,” he said, “but it’s still always a shock. Saw her at Christmas and found out about five days ago. We are a very close family.”

Ward, hovering on the edge of the top 100, was encouraged, meanwhile, by his showing against a quality player, “who four years ago blew me away at Wimbledon in three sets. I think when we meet again he will know he will have to play really well to beat me.”

Edmund, just turned 20 and in the main draw of an overseas slam for the first time after winning three qualifying matches, was not quite strong enough to handle the power of the 25-year-old American Steve Johnson, who nevertheless was impressed with the young British prospect en route to winning 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

Edmund is inevitably saddled with comparisons with the other rising players of this slowly emerging era, notably the Australians Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokkinakis, who are through to the second round. That, however, is not a bus missed, just delayed.

“It is a strong generation,” Edmund acknowledged. “You saw Kokkinakis and Kyrgios getting through, and also [Borna] Coric getting in [the main draw] on his own right. That’s a good effort in itself. There are other players coming through as well. But tennis has such a wide range of age that, whoever you play, you have to bring your game to the court on that day.”

Asked if he feels he belongs at this level, Edmund paused and said, “Yes and no. The more experience you get, the more comfortable you are with it. At the same time you never take playing at this level for granted. Everyone is competing. If I look back at the qualifying there were a lot of tough situations where I had to play well to get through.

“On Friday or Saturday I’ll be leaving for Hong Kong to play in a Challenger there on Monday. So the process keeps going. I’ll keep trying to get better and I’ll keep looking forward.”

Edmund has the talent and determination to do well in the game, but he has yet to produce the sort of eye-catching performance to suggest his breakthrough at grand slam level is imminent. Softly spoken and impossibly polite, the South African-born Edmund has an almost translucent look, with sandy hair and milky features, that gives the impression struggle is alien to him.

Yet, at no point in losing in straight sets to Johnson on Tuesday did he collapse. He had his moments and he took some of them but Johnson, five years older and more gnarled, knew too much. Edmund admitted he struggled to handle Johnson’s serve, caught between trying to cut down the angle by coming in and retreating to find more space.

“When I was in in the rallies,” he said, “I felt that I was doing a good job, but I had only one break point in the match and I didn’t take it.”

Johnson, hoping to be in the USA’s Davis Cup team to play Great Britain in March, was, nonetheless, impressed. “I didn’t really know too much about Kyle but I knew he was good and I took him very seriously,” he said. “You don’t qualify for a slam if you’re a slouch. He has a great forehand, great serve – but he gave me a lot of looks on his second serve today. He moves well, though, going to be a great player.”

Heather Watson, meanwhile, was left to curse her luck, struck again by passing nausea at the most inconvenient time – just a few days after winning her second WTA title, in Hobart, and being installed at 38 in the world, her highest ever ranking. Tsvetana Pironkova, the experienced Bulgarian, sensed something was wrong and, after the tournament doctor administered Watson with an energy drink between sets, she powered home in the second, to win without fuss,

“I struggled on the court to have energy and against any player here you can’t be like that,” Watson said. “It’s tough enough when you’re fit let alone when you’re not. I don’t think it’s [a recurrence of the glandular fever that wrecked her season in 2013]. It’s just one of those things, one of those days. It’s unfortunate that it’s come today, but I didn’t cope well with it. Pironkova took advantage.”

Sounding as disheartened as she has done for a long time, Watson added, “I get this at different times. I have a day or two here and there where I feel like this. It’s to do with my body and how it works, so I’m going to see the doctor afterwards because I can’t let this affect me anymore. It sucks.”