Kyle Edmund keeps his cool in fierce heat of battle to seal best career win at Australian Open

Statistically, it might not have been his greatest triumph, but Kyle Edmund was in no mood to disagree with Andy Murray after the Scot described his Davis Cup colleague’s victory over Nikoloz Basilashvili here as the best of his career.

Edmund, the last Briton left in singles competition at the Australian Open, beat 25-year-old Georgian Basilashvili 7-6, 3-6, 4-6, 6-0, 7-5 to reach the fourth round for the first time.

However, it was the manner of the victory, in the most demanding of conditions, that earned Murray’s praise. The temperature on a scorching day was 40C by the time the 23-year-old Briton closed out his win after more than three and a half hours, having lost two of the first three sets.

Murray, who had presumably been watching on TV through the night, sent his congratulations to “Kedders” on Twitter. “Physical test passed… mental strength passed,” he wrote. “I reckon that’s [the] biggest win of Kyle Edmund’s career.” Asked if he agreed with Murray, Edmund said: “It’s definitely up there, for sure.”

The pale-skinned Briton agreed that this had been one of the hardest physical tests he had ever faced. He has cramped in similar conditions in the past and lost a number of tight matches in deciding sets, but this was the second time this week that he has come from behind to win in five sets following his first-round victory over Kevin Anderson.

“It was hot, man,” Edmund said, after matching his best run at a Grand Slam tournament. “It’s tough. There is no getting around it. For me, mentally, I just accepted that it was going to be tough today. It was like, ‘It’s going to be hot and, physically, you’re probably going to be feeling not your best’. That’s just the way I approached it. It zaps the energy out of you. To repeat and repeat and repeat, it’s tough.”

Edmund spent 10 minutes in an ice bath after the match and ate and drank as much as possible to aid his recovery. “The body is just low on stuff,” added the world No49. “It’s been out there for however long in heat. It’s just lost a lot of fluids, a lot of energy and nutrition. The quicker you can refuel, the better. Sleep, as well, is really good. The next 48 hours will just be about recovery.”

Edmund could never remember having played in such conditions for such a long time, but had no complaints. “It’s a professional sport,” he said. “It’s meant to hurt. It’s not meant to be easy.”

Although the temperature did not reach the predicted 43C — and much cooler days are forecast for the next week — everyone had been warned to prepare properly. The advice was to wear headgear, use plenty of sunblock and keep drinking water — and that was just the guidance for spectators.

Because of the lack of shade on Court 2, where a gusting wind sometimes made it feel like a giant hairdryer had been turned on, many of the seats were empty.

Edmund took a medical time-out after only three games because his back was feeling tight, but did not have any physical problems thereafter.

Having played a perfect tie-break, which he won 7-0, to take the first set, Edmund lost momentum as Basilashvili took the next two. The big-hitting world No61 played the big points well, saving 20 of Edmund’s 27 break points in the match and converting five of his own seven, but his 17 double faults kept giving his opponent encouragement.

The turning point came when Basilashvili served at 0-1 in the fourth set. After 20 minutes and 15 deuces, Edmund finally converted his eighth break point of the game and went on to win the set to love.

Edmund saved a break point at 4-4 in the deciding set and in the following game went to match point after Basilashvili’s last double fault. After the Georgian then netted a backhand, Edmund dropped his racket to the floor, raised his arms in celebration and flexed his right bicep in a gesture that Murray would no doubt have recognised.

In the fourth round on Sunday, Edmund will face world No76 Andreas Seppi, who beat Ivo Karlovic 6-3, 7-6, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7 after nearly four hours. Edmund won his only previous meeting with the 33-year-old Italian in Antwerp two years ago, but is expecting a tough match.

“He’s going to be feeling good about his game, like me,” said Edmund. “It doesn’t really matter about head-to-heads or the number in the bracket next to his name. It makes no difference. As you have seen in this tournament, there are a lot of seeds that have gone out. I have to be ready for a battle.”