by Bradley Halcrow

The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Lawn Tennis Association is celebrating Kyle Edmund's Australian Open performances.

The British number 2 and world number 49 defeated world number 3 Grigor Dimitrov in an explosive four sets in the early hours of yesterday.

Now Edmund,who is yet to even reach an ATP Tour final, is playing big-serving Croatian Marin Cilic for the right to play in a Grand Slam final -probably against 19-time winner Roger Federer.

HIOW LTA Chairman Richard Cutler said: "I think with Kyle and Johanna (Konta) we have people who can inspire hard work and dedication into tennis.

 "We use people like Kyle as a role model here in Hampshire as he started taking the sport seriously quite late, around 10 years old.

"We aim to help create a pathway for people to get down to their local club or leisure centre, set personal targets and develop their game from there."

Edmund's game has taken huge strides forward in the last few years, and he has worked closely with British number 1 Andy Murray over this time.

He made his Davis Cup debut in the 2015 final against Belgium, which Great Britian won.

Murray is currently out injured, but may have a new rivalry with Edmund when he returns.

The win against Dimitrov was the Yorkshireman's first against a top-ten seed.

Now he is two wins from becoming the first English Grand Slam champion since Fred Perry in 1936.