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Kyle Edmund 'feels like Andy Murray' after booking shock Australian Open semi spot

Kyle Edmund wrote his name into British tennis history on Tuesday as he reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open with the biggest victory of his career.

By beating the world No3, Grigor Dimitrov, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 with a stunning display of thunderous forehands and booming serves, Edmund became the first British man other than Andy Murray to reach the last four in singles at this tournament since John Lloyd in 1977.

“I am loving it right now, just the way I’m playing,” Edmund said. “I’m 23 years old, in my first Grand Slam semi-final, having just played on one of the biggest courts in the world and beaten a player of the quality of Grigor. They’re great feelings.”

Edmund will become only the sixth British man in the open era — after Roger Taylor, Lloyd, Greg Rusedski, Tim Henman and Murray — to play in a Grand Slam singles semi-final. He will be only the fourth to do so at this event, following in the footsteps of Taylor, Lloyd and Murray.

Henman, who wished Edmund luck before the match, was in the crowd here on Rod Laver Arena to watch, while Murray, at home recovering from hip surgery, was one of the first to react to his triumph, sending a one-word message on Twitter which simply read: “Wow!

Edmund said the interest in him from British media had made him realise “what it feels like to be Andy Murray for the last eight years, or however long it is”.

In the first semi-final on Thursday Edmund will face the winner of Tuesday's later match between Rafael Nadal and Marin Cilic.

Asked if he thought he could go on to win the title on Sunday, Edmund insisted that he was focusing only on his next match.

“I believe I can win that, like today and every other match,” he said. “I’ve gone in there knowing where my game is at, knowing what I want to do on court, not taking anything for granted.”

If Edmund reaches the final, he will overtake Murray as British No1, a position the three-times Grand Slam winner has held for the past 12 years.

Even if he loses on Thursday, Edmund is set to climb more than 20 places in the world rankings from his present position at No49.

Edmund’s victory over Dimitrov, who claimed the biggest win of his career when he won the ATP Finals in London just two months ago, was arguably the biggest upset of the tournament so far, eclipsing even Hyeon Chung’s defeat of Novak Djokovic yesterday.

Dimitrov has been struggling to find his best form in the opening weeks of the new season, while Edmund’s confidence has been rising ever since he knocked out Kevin Anderson, last year’s US Open runner-up, in the first round here.

“I knew I was in a good place,” Edmund said. “There’s no reason why my tennis wasn’t good enough to win. It’s obviously about going out there and doing it.”

Edmund said he had always believed in the destructive power of his forehand. “I know I have a big shot in that,” he said.

“I know my game. It’s nothing new to me, so I know what I need to do out there: go out there and work out ways to get my forehand, work out ways best how to use it.

“As I get older, wiser, more experienced, I’m learning how to use it more effectively.”