In battle of Brits, Murray—unconcerned with low ranking—tops Edmund

WATCH—Match point from Andy Murray's win over Kyle Edmund at Citi Open:

WASHINGTON, D.C.—A changing of the guard in British tennis was halted on Wednesday with Andy Murray, technically ranked No. 832, taking out fourth-seeded Kyle Edmund, 7-6 (4), 1-6, 6-4 at the Citi Open. It's Murray's second three-set win this week.

"That's been my best win since I started playing again," Murray said. "It will give me confidence moving forward that I'm able to play at that level.

"Hopefully my body will start to adjust to the matches and realize what it's supposed to be doing again."

Edmund is eight years younger than the three-time Grand Slam champion and a whopping 814 ranking spots higher at No. 18. Going into the Citi Open, the 23-year-old had played 36 matches in 2018 while Murray had played just four. On top of all that, Edmund beat the Scot in Eastbourne, and in straight sets.

"I felt a lot better in the build-up to this tournament," Murray said. "Whereas in Eastbourne, anytime Kyle was dictating points I wasn't tracking enough balls down. I felt a bit slow to the balls. Today I was able to defend and dig up a few more shots. That made a big difference."

The two compatriots have only played each other four times, but things have vastly changed between their first meeting at Queen’s Club in 2016. That year, Murray was No. 1 and enjoying his career-best season. Now it's Edmund riding an upward surge.

"I'm not massively motivated by rankings anymore," said Murray, who was year-end No. 1 in 2016. "It was a very short period in my career where ranking was important to me at the middle of 2016 through until the end of 2016. From there I've not been that fussed about it."

WATCH—Murray's interview after beating Edmund in D.C.:

Murray’s greatest weapon has been his agility and speed, forcing opponents to hit more balls and overplay. Without perfect health, that all suffers, but his anticipation skills are firmly intact.

"Andy's always been a good mover and also his anticipation, he does that very well," Edmund said.

Edmund had the edge in the first set, but instead he dropped the tiebreak, putting himself into a deep hole. But he wasn’t intimated, nor was he going to go away.

"When I was a kid I was watching him play professionally so I've always looked up to him," Edmund said. "When you go and play him and you want to beat him it's obviously a little bit different. You sort of get used to that."

The fire in the 31-year-old Murray never faded, despite the lopsided second set.

"The beginning of the third set I started well and tried to increase my intensity a little bit which was lacking at the end of the second set," he said.

Murray got the first opportunity in the third, but stuffed a double break point chance at 4-3. That’s an opportunity that the 2016 version of Murray would have pounced on. But the same old Murray is still around when it comes to grimacing, muttering to himself and gesturing to his box. To be fair, he also lets rip a roaring "come on" on occasion.

And then came the return of the Murray lob. He used it to get to 30-30 in the last game. Edmund's seventh double fault handed Murray match point. That’s when another vintage Murray moment occurred—a blistering crosscourt backhand winner, sending him into the Citi Open quarterfinals after 2.5 hours.

No matter what happens, his ranking is going to rise to the high 500s, but Murray won't be obsessing over it.

"From now on I'm more interested in trying to win tournaments and staying healthy," Murray said. "And being able to compete for as long as I can."

ATP & WTA Washington D.C.

Catch all the action from the Citi Open with live coverage from three courts on Tennis Channel Plus beginning Monday, July 30th at 2:00 PM ET. All matches also available on-demand.