Kyle Edmund: I was dominating, he couldn’t get near me… but I got cramp

The 20-year-old, who is making his debut in the competition, raced away with the first two sets, but ended up losing 6-3 6-1 2-6 1-6 0-6.

It put Great Britain 1-0 down in the tie with four rubbers remaining but the world No 100 who clearly struggled with his movement before the end of the match, says he is encouraged by the performance.

[STORY: Goffin roars back against Edmund to give Belgium 1-0 lead]

“I started very well," he said. “Obviously not playing a Davis Cup match before, I was nervous naturally. I was just trying to focus on trying to block out the atmosphere, the occasion, and just play tennis, which is something I do every day. I hit thousands and thousands of balls. It couldn't have gone any better.

“I was dominating the first two sets. He couldn't get near me. He turned that, and that's something I need to learn from. So, yeah, obviously I'm disappointed that I couldn't do it for the team, but it's one of the most important experiences I'll have, I think.

“In the third set he started to get on top of me. Then, yeah, things started to fall away. In the fourth set I was struggling physically, and in the fifth set. It was just disappointing that my body couldn't hold up the way I would have liked it to.

“My legs just started to get tired. I could just feel them straining a bit. My legs started cramping a bit. I just lost a bit of confidence in my movement. Pushing off every time I was serving and landing, it was just getting really tight. Yeah, obviously it affects your mind on the match.”

At the end of the match, a clearly emotional Edmund slumped into his seat and hid his head with a towel. And he admitted the occasion got to him.

“At the end I was very upset, like, emotionally. Yeah, doing something you love, you know, it's your job, it's something you do every day, you put a lot of time and effort into it, so you take it very seriously and you become emotionally attached to it.

“This is a very unique atmosphere. It's something I have never played in. So it's a whole new experience for me. Yeah, sometimes it's just something different I'm not used to."

However, despite the loss, Edmund, who recently won a tournament in Argentina, insists he could have won despite of the clay surface that has been laid on in Belgium.

“On paper I was not meant to win,” he added. “But we're playing on a clay court. That's the way I look at it. I believed I could win. You could see that the way I was going in the first two sets, I knew I could win. I knew I had the game to beat him and I was playing well enough.

“So, yeah, I mean, that's probably why I was upset at the end because I knew I had the chance to beat him. I was two sets to love up. It's not a nice feeling losing two sets to love up, losing in five. It happens to people.

“You're playing for your country, you're playing for your team-mates. You feel like you've let them down. I'll look back on it and I'll say I did my best. But in the moment, you're emotionally attached to it. You're just disappointed you couldn't do it for your team.”

Goffin also had some sympathy for his opponent. The world No 16 said: "I was a little bit worried because Kyle was playing unbelievable. He just had nothing to lose. He played a wonderful match. But, like I said, I knew I had a chance and I had to take it.

"If Kyle played three sets like this, okay, no problem, he plays unbelievable. But I knew it's always tough when you are young, when you're playing your first match in Davis Cup, to play three sets like this. It's always tough. That's why I tried to stay calm and wait for a chance."

Goffin added that he's fresh enough to take part in three matches if called upon. "I'm feeling really good," he added. "At the end I was feeling better than in the beginning of the match. It was five sets, but it was not a long match. I'm feeling really good. I'm ready if I have to play tomorrow and Sunday."