MELBOURNE: There’ll be a British man in the Australian Open semifinals for the seventh time in nine years. This time it’ll be Kyle Edmund, not Andy Murray.
Edmund upset No. 3-ranked Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday to reach the semifinals for the first time. Edmund had never played in a major quarterfinal, had never won five consecutive matches at tour level, had lost both of his previous matches against Dimitrov and had never beaten a top five player.
He checked all those boxes on Rod Laver Arena, setting himself up for a match against either top-ranked Rafael Nadal or No. 6 Marin Cilic for a spot in the final of the season’s first Grand Slam.
After breaking Dimitrov’s serve in the ninth game of the fourth set, Edmund set up match point with an ace. Then he had to wait before a video challenge confirmed that Dimitrov’s last shot — a floating backhand — was out.
“I just held my nerve in that last game and prayed that last ball would be out,” Edmund said. It was out, and so was Dimitrov, who lost a thrilling five-set semifinal here last year to Nadal and had only just beaten Edmund two weeks ago at the Brisbane International.
“When you’re on these types of stages, reaching the last stages of the best tournaments in the world, it’s very pleasing. But of course I want to keep going,” Edmund said.
Murray reached five Australian Open finals, but has never won the title at Melbourne Park. He’s missing the season-opening major this year after deciding to have surgery on his hip. That leaves Edmund as the center of attention for the tennis-loving British public.
“I know what it feels like to be Andy Murray the last eight years,” he said. “It’s probably the first time I’ve done well on my own, so there’s more attention there. Of course you take it in stride.”
Britain’s Kyle Edmund upsets Grigor Dimitrov to reach Australian Open semifinals
Britain’s Kyle Edmund upsets Grigor Dimitrov to reach Australian Open semifinals
Barcelona pounces on Real Madrid stumble and regains lead of La Liga with a 3-0 win over Levante
- Barcelona moved one point ahead of Madrid, which had won eight in a row in the league before losing to Osasuna
MADRID: Barcelona took advantage of Real Madrid’s stumble and regained the Spanish league lead with a comfortable 3-0 win over relegation-threatened Levante on Sunday.
Marc Bernal, Frenkie de Jong and Fermín López scored a goal each as Barcelona ended a two-game losing streak to get back in front of rival Madrid, which lost 2-1 at Osasuna on Saturday.
Barcelona moved one point ahead of Madrid, which had won eight in a row in the league before losing to Osasuna.
Barcelona was coming off a 2-1 loss to Girona in the league and a 4-0 loss to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals.
“It was important to win and earn three points again,” Barcelona defender João Cancelo said. “Soccer gives you these opportunities to rebound and that’s what we did today, playing well again after two bad games.”
Barcelona had earned a clean sheet only once in its previous six games in all competitions.
Good start for Barcelona
Bernal scored from close range four minutes into the match at the Camp Nou Stadium. The 18-year-old Bernal had scored his first goal with the first team two rounds ago in a win over Mallorca.
“They had an early chance but my goal helped us settle and gain some confidence,” Bernal said.
De Jong added to the lead from inside the area in the 32nd and López sealed the victory with a beautiful long-range shot in the 81st, with the ball ricocheting off the post before going into the net.
Levante’s Australian goalkeeper Mathew Ryan kept Barcelona from adding the fourth with a pair of outstanding saves in a row in the final minutes, first off a header by Raphinha and then off a point-blank strike from López on the rebound.
It was the fourth straight defeat for Levante, which sits in 19th place. It is one point ahead of last-place Oviedo, which has a game in hand.
Levante has only one victory in its last eight matches.
Pedri entered the match in the 66th to make his return to action after an injury layoff.
Other results
Sevilla won 1-0 at 10-man Getafe for its second win in its last 10 matches in all competitions.
Djibril Sow scored a 64th-minute winner for the visitors. Getafe played a man down from the 26th after a straight red card for Djene Dakonam.
The result left Sevilla in 11th place, immediately above Getafe.
Third-place Villarreal, Barcelona’s next league opponent, can restore a three-point gap to fourth-place Atletico Madrid if it beats Valencia at home later Sunday. Atletico beat Espanyol 4-2 at home on Saturday.
