Kyle Edmund defeats Novak Djokovic to reach Madrid Open third round

The British number one won 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 in one hour, 40 minutes

Kyle Edmund beat Novak Djokovic in Madrid (Getty)

British Number One Kyle Edmund has beaten Novak Djokovic 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 in the second round of the Madrid Open.

It is the first time Edmund has beaten the 12-time Grand Slam champion and another impressive milestone in what is proving to be the 23-year-old’s breakthrough season.

Edmund reached his first Grand Slam semi-final at the Australian Open earlier in the year, defeating a top-ten player for the very first time in Grigor Dimitrov, and won his maiden doubles title on the ATP circuit alongside Cameron Norrie at last week’s Estoril Open.

“It was a great experience to beat Novak, he is a legend of the game,” Edmund said on court after progressing to the third round. “It's time to try and beat these guys and I was pleased how I managed my game.”

Kyle Edmund is through to the third round (Getty)

He made a bright start against Djokovic, breaking the Serbian’s serve in the opening game of the match and then recovering from an early break of service of his own to win 6-3.

Djokovic wrested back the initiative in the second but then faded in the decisive third, with his 2018 season record now standing at a middling 6-6. It was an especially disappointing loss for Djokovic considering he had defeated World No 20 Kei Nishikori in straight sets in the previous round.

“Well, you know, look, there are obvious things that are not working well for me,” a disconsolate Djokovic commented after the match.

“But I have to keep working on them and pray that my game will get stronger and get better as the matches begin to go the distance.

“Especially, you know, at such big tournaments against quality players, you’ve got to really step up. I tried but obviously, yeah, it wasn’t to be today. Hopefully at the next one.

“But it’s not the end of the world. Obviously, I’ve played this sport so many years and had a bunch of success. I try to always remind myself and be grateful for that.”

Novak Djokovic has been struggling for form (Getty)

The win should see Edmund break into the top-20 in the ATP World Rankings for the first time when they are next updated on Monday. Born in Johannesburg, the powerful Edmund has forged a reputation as one of the most talented young players in world tennis.

With Andy Murray potentially ruled out for the entire grass-court season, Edmund’s continued rise establishes him as the clear British Number One and now arguably the country’s best hope for a Grand Slam title this year.