I know what it feels like to be Andy Murray - Edmund revels in limelight

Andy Murray has been the main man of British tennis for more than 10 years, but Kyle Edmund is currently the star turn at Melbourne Park.

Published : Jan 23, 2018 16:41 IST

Kyle Edmund celebrates his win over Grigor Dimitrov
Kyle Edmund celebrates his win over Grigor Dimitrov
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Kyle Edmund celebrates his win over Grigor Dimitrov

Kyle Edmund joked that he knew what it felt like to be Andy Murray after continuing his stunning run at the Australian Open by reaching the men's singles semi-finals.

Three-time grand slam champion Murray has been Britain's leading player for more than a decade and reached the summit of the world rankings in 2016.

The 30-year-old was ruled out of the year's first grand slam after opting to undergo surgery on a long-standing hip problem, but world number 49 Edmund has stepped up superbly in his compatriot's absence and beat third seed Grigor Dimitrov in four sets on Tuesday to make the last four at Melbourne Park.

In an on-court interview on Rod Laver Arena, Edmund said: "It's an amazing feeling, very happy. With these sort of things, you're so emotionally engaged that you don't really take it in, you don't really enjoy yourself, so at the end I really tried to enjoy the moment.

"It's my first match on this court and it was very special."

Asked for his thoughts on becoming the focal point of attention from the British media, Edmund replied: "I know what it feels like to be Andy Murray for the last eight years or however long.

"It comes with the territory of playing professional sport - the better you do, the more attention you get. It's probably the first time I've done well on my own [without Murray playing at the same slam], so there's more attention there, but you just take it in your stride and try to embrace it as much as possible.

"It's a good problem to have. I guess the more I keep winning, the better!

"Reaching the last stage of the best tournament in the world, it's obviously very pleasing, but of course I want to keep going."

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