Edmund out of French Open with stomach problem

Kyle Edmund has opted to withdraw from the French Open before playing his second round match against the Aussie Nick Kyrgios. After a strenuous five-set first round victory that lasted approaching three hours of play, the South-African born British player has cited a stomach injury as the reason for his exit from the tournament. The 20-year-old hopes to recover in time to play in the upcoming grass court season.

Good progress by Edmund

Edmund had shown great heart and resilience to come through the three qualifying rounds required to make the first round itself in Paris.

He then added a first round victory (his first in a Grand Slam) to his achievements, by coming through a long tussle with the veteran Stephane Robert. The effort of four matches in a week seems to have taken its toll on the world ranked 121 player though, leaving Kyrgios with a walkover into the next round.

He explained via twitter that he had withdrawn "to avoid making the injury worse" and to "prepare for the grass."

Edmund remains hopeful of recovering sufficiently to participate in the prestigious Queen's Club event next month, which precedes his 'home' Grand Slam tournament at Wimbledon.

Kyrgios could play Murray in third round

Kyrgios, ranked 29^th in the world, is a dangerous opponent and likely to climb higher in the rankings in due course, especially one suspects when he returns to the grass courts where his game seems ideally suited.

Like Edmund he is still just 20 years of age, but has already reached the quarter-finals of last year's Wimbledon tournament, beating Rafael Nadal along the way. He matched that achievement earlier in the year at the Australian Open, going out to Britain's Andy Murray in the last-eight.

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