Shropshire Star

Kyle Edmund sweeps aside Lucas Pouille to reach Italian Open third round

The Briton’s recent form has seen him move into the top 20 in the world rankings.

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Kyle Edmund maintained his fine clay court season form with a 6-2 7-6 (7/3) second-round victory over Frenchman Lucas Pouille at Italian Open in Rome.

The Briton defeated Novak Djokovic and David Goffin on his way to the quarter-finals in Madrid last week and that form moved the 23-year-old into the top 20 of the ATP rankings on Monday.

The world number 19 needed three sets to see off qualifier Malek Jaziri in the first round, but a dominant serving performance, where he offered just one break point, ensured a smoother path into the last 16 where he will face second seed Alexander Zverev.

Edmund broke the world number 16 in the opening game of the match before moving 2-0 up with a hold to love to gain a stranglehold of the match.

The duo shared the next four games but Edmund secured his second break of the set in the seventh game before serving out to take the opener, dropping just seven points on serve in the process.

Pouille tightened up his own service game as neither player offered a break point in the first six games of the second set before Edmund fashioned an opportunity in a lengthy seventh game, but the Frenchman held on to move 4-3 up.

The British number one held in the next to restore parity before the pair continued to serve out as they forced a tie-break.

However, Edmund raced out of the blocks to move 4-0 ahead and it proved more than enough to defeat Pouille in one hour and 33 minutes.

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