Kyle Edmund claimed the best win of his career as he knocked out 11th seed Kevin Anderson in five sets at the Australian Open.
Edmund, the only British man in the singles draw, won 6-7 (4-7) 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-4 in the first round in Melbourne.
The 23-year-old, ranked 49th, twice came back from a set down and recovered from 2-0 behind in the final set to win in a minute short of four hours.
He goes on to face Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin in the second round.
Edmund’s best previous victory at a Grand Slam tournament in, terms of rankings, had been his win over 15th seed Richard Gasquet at the 2016 US Open.
He had lost his only previous encounter with Anderson over five sets at last year’s French Open, and he was in no mood to suffer a similar defeat
- Williams knocked out by Bencic
- Live scores and results
- BBC coverage times
US Open finalist Anderson, 31, was predictably dominant for periods on serve, using his 6ft 8in frame to good effect as he finished with 35 aces to Edmund’s 11.
Edmund had been working on his returns in the off-season, however, and it paid off.
After losing a tight first set on the tie-break, Edmund’s heavy forehand began to find its range as he broke for 4-2 on his way to taking the second.
Anderson’s experience told in the third set as he reeled off six of seven points following a rain delay to move ahead once again.
However, urged on by a large British contingent on court three, Edmund broke early in the fourth and roared as he held on from 0-40 to consolidate.
Memories of Paris stirred when Anderson took control of the fifth set at 2-0, but this time Edmund hit straight back.
A shoulder rub was required as the match clock approached four hours but Edmund continued to play aggressively, forcing the errors from Anderson to break serve for a fourth time.
The Briton admitted before the match that he had lost too many matches from wining positions last year and he made no mistake this time, sweeping his 31st forehand winner of the day to clinch victory.
