Wimbledon 2017: Kyle Edmund loses to Gael Monfils in straight-sets in hard-hitting encounter on Centre Court

Britain’s singles representation in the third round at Wimbledon will remain at four players after Kyle Edmund failed to follow Andy Murray, Aljaz Bedene, Johanna Konta and Heather Watson into the last 32.

Edmund had his moments in a hard-hitting encounter on Centre Court with Gael Monfils, but the 30-year-old Frenchman held firm to win 7-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Edmund, who had secured his first win at Wimbledon when he beat his fellow Briton Alex Ward in the first round on Tuesday, fought toe-to-toe with Monfils for long periods as both men hit the ball with great power. Monfils, however, was the more consistent performer and took advantage when Edmund erred on some of the big points.

While Edmund has performed well on hard courts and especially on clay, he is still finding his way on grass. The 22-year-old Briton’s victory over Ward had ended a four-match losing streak on grass and was only his fourth tour-level win on the surface.

Monfils, too, admits that he is “not a big fan” of playing on grass, but the world No 14 is an experienced campaigner who has reached the semi-finals at both the French and US Opens. The flamboyant Frenchman, who has never gone beyond the third round here, has also added more consistency to his game in the last 18 months.

Edmund will no doubt look back with regret on the opening set, which could hardly have been much tighter until the tie-break. Monfils, who appeared to have a knee problem in the early stages, had only one break point, which he saved in the sixth game, and was grateful to survive a marathon game at 4-4, in which Edmund had three break points.

However, the tie-break slipped away from Edmund from the moment he missed what should have been a routine forehand volley on the second point. A missed backhand volley saw the Briton go 3-0 down and Monfils then went 4-0 up with an ace. A backhand winner down the line raised the briefest of hopes of an Edmund revival before three missed forehands in a row helped Monfils take the tie-break 7-1.

Monfils was the first to draw blood in the second set when he broke in the third game, but Edmund fought back and levelled at 3-3, breaking serve with a winning backhand cross-court pass. At 4-4, however, Edmund’s unforced forehand error gave Monfils another break and the Frenchman proceeded to serve out for the set with an ace.

Nevertheless, Edmund’s spirit could not be faulted. The Briton broke at the first attempt in the third set and soon led 3-0. However, Monfils broke in the fifth game after Edmund missed the target with a loose forehand and again in the seventh, this time completing the job with a big backhand winner down the line.

The Frenchman completed his victory with a service winner after two hours and 12 minutes of intense competition in 31C heat.

“The first set was a big battle and winning the tie-break was a big moment in the match,” Monfils said afterwards. “Kyle put up a great fight but I was a little bit better than him today.”