As Rome winds down and folks gear up for Roland Garros, all eyes will rightfully be on Rafael Nadal and some of his most exciting young challenges like Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem.  But while these men represent the clear front-runners in Paris, there are dark horses among the field, who could shake things up.  Among that crop of competitors sits Kyle Edmund.

One could be forgiven for potentially overlooking Edmund.  Unlike many of the standouts of his generation, his rise up the rankings has been steady and measured rather than meteoric.  Words like “flashy” and “exciting” are not the first descriptors that come to mind when talking about his game or his on-court personality.  On the contrary, his reactions on court tend to be understated as he simply quietly goes about his business.  That business has been relatively good of late, however, which is why he could be one to watch in Paris.

The current British Number 1 has done an admirable job of trying to fill Andy Murray's shoes while Murray remains on the sidelines following hip surgery earlier this season.  He achieved a career-high ranking of Number 19 just this week, and it is because he has enjoyed a very solid clay season.  He reached his maiden tournament final last month in Morocco and followed that up with a quarterfinal finish in Madrid and fell just shy of repeating that feat this week in Rome.  Furthermore, he enjoyed a spectacular breakthrough at this year's Australian Open where he made it all the way to the final four.  Additionally, he has accumulated wins over Novak Djokovic, David Goffin, and Grigor Dimitrov among others this season, increasingly proving that he is developing into a big-match player.

Edmund certainly has the tools to vie for titles.  His forehand is already a formidable weapon, a stroke that he gets plenty of juice on and can hit anywhere in the court.  His backhand has continually improved and now sports more variety, and he has continued to make improvements with his game in the forecourt.  With his height and build, there is no reason why his serve cannot also continue to evolve into an even greater weapon.  Further tinkering with these skills is sure to only make his game more imposing but it is the experience he has been garnering with some of his deep runs this season that will be even more crucial.  That is what will give him the belief that he can execute his game plan and take him to the next level.

Whether or not Edmund is able to take that step to the next level remains to be seen, but he has done enough to warrant a second look.  He did not break into the Top 20 by accident, and if his recent loss to Zverev on Thursday was any indication, he is more than capable of challenging those ahead of him.  He may not be poised to hoist a major trophy just yet but keep an eye on him in Paris and the weeks to come.  He is having a career-year in 2018, and if he continues this pattern the back half of the season, things are only going to get better.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
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