Kyle Edmund powered into a first Grand Slam quarter-final with a four-set win over Italy’s Andreas Seppi at the Australian Open.
The British number two, ranked 49th, recovered from a slow start to win 6-7 (4-7) 7-5 6-2 6-3 at Melbourne Park.
Edmund, 23, trailed by a set and a break but hit 25 aces and cut down on early errors as he went on to dominate.
He will face Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria on Tuesday after the third seed beat Australian Nick Kyrgios.
Edmund joins Andy Murray as the only British men to reach the quarter-finals in Melbourne since John Lloyd in 1985.
“Through to my first quarter-final – I am very happy,” said Edmund.
“It was a close first set and I didn’t feel I got the best start. He was hitting the ball very clean. In the second set I tried to shift the momentum and once I broke him in the last game of the second set I took control of the match.”
Two days after after a gruelling five-set contest in 40C heat, Edmund found the energy in much cooler conditions to see off the experienced Seppi and make a Grand Slam breakthrough.
The work done on his serve and return with new coach Freddie Rosengren, watching from the stands alongside Davis Cup captain Leon Smith, paid off handsomely.
“It shows I’m improving,” said Edmund, who finished with 63 winners to 40 unforced errors. It’s always good to see when results come, because that’s when it really shows it’s paying off.
“You can see you’re improving, but nothing really beats winning and results.”
Asked whether his early struggles were the result of a gruelling week that has included two five-set wins, Edmund said: “He just got off to a good start.
“Sometimes you don’t win every point and don’t win all the games you want to. There’s some problem-solving. It was still reasonably physically tough out there, but I did a good job of managing it.”