When is Kyle Edmund’s first match at the Australian Open? How can I watch?
Find out when to watch Britain’s number one and former Australian Open semi-finalist on the court
Britain’s number one Kyle Edmund is returning to the courts in Melbourne for the first time since his run to the Australian Open semi-finals last year.
The 24-year-old has been racing against time to get fit for the tournament after a knee injury which forced him to withdraw from competing at Sydney International earlier this month.
Edmund will be facing a formidable opponent – Tomas Berdych – in the first round. Here’s how you can watch his opening match at the Australian Open…
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How can I watch Kyle Edmund play live in the Australian Open first round? What time is he playing?
Kyle Edmund will play his first round match on Monday 14th January. His is the third match scheduled on the Melbourne Arena court, after a men's and a women's tie. Play starts at midnight London time (11am in Melbourne) so Edmund is not likely to be on court before around 3 or 4am.
His match will be followed by Andy Murray's.
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The Australian Open will be available to watch live on Eurosport in the UK. But if you don’t have it on your TV, there’s a cheaper option…
If you subscribe to Amazon Prime, can watch Eurosport for six months for £0.01 using Amazon Channels.
After that six month period the Eurosport channel is £6.99 per month and your Amazon Prime membership will cost you £7.99 per month – but there is a 30-day free trial you can use to access it.
If you want to watch the Eurosport Player direct it’ll cost you £9.99 per month or £59.88 a year, again with a seven-day free trial at the start of your subscription – although the Australian Open runs for a fortnight so if you go down this route you’ll have to pay to see the entire tournament.
Or a final option is to subscribe to the TVPlayer PLUS Lite package for just £6.99, which will give you access to the Eurosport 1 and 2 channels along with a number of others.
The BBC will also show their own highlights which will no doubt feature British matches among the best bits.
Who is Kyle Edmund playing in the first round of the Australian Open?
Edmund, who is seeded 13th, will be going up against unseeded player Tomas Berdych, who was formerly world number 4, in the first round.
At the Qatar Open last week, Berdych marked his return from a six-month hiatus due to a back injury by finishing as runner-up – losing to Andy Murray's Australian Open first round opponent Roberto Bautista Agut.
Who is Tomas Berdych?
The 33-year-old hails from the Czech Republic and turned pro in 2002. He is a two-time semi-finalist at the Australian Open and made it to the Wimbledon final in 2010 but was beaten by Rafael Nadal. He is currently ranked 57th in the world but his career high is fourth (in May 2015).
What is Kyle Edmund’s current ranking?
Edmund is the world number 14. If he loses to Berdych, he sacrifices a large number of ATP points and will tumble down the rankings.
How did Kyle Edmund do in last year’s Australian Open?
Edmund began the Australian Open in a similarly tough way in 2018, pitted against Kevin Anderson who went on to reach the Wimbledon final in July. He triumphed in five sets before going on to reach the last four – losing to Croatian Marin Cilic – which unfortunately means he has those aforementioned ranking points to defend.
Edmund's Australian Open run kicked off a remarkable year for the Brit, who soared from 50th in the world at the start of the year to inside the top 20 by the end.
The Australian Open takes place from Monday 14th January, concluding with the men’s final on Sunday 27th January
