Kyle Edmund’s run at the third round of the US Open ended in painful resignation to a spasm in his upper back after a little over two hours of a ragged match against Denis Shapovalov, leaving the Canadian teenager to forge on in a draw that has been shredded to pieces after just five days.

The earlier exit of the former champion Marin Cilic, who lost to the bustling Argentinian Diego Schwartzman in four sets, means there is not a single slam finalist on the side of the draw opposite Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, whose own drive at the title has been stuttering at best.

US Open: Kyle Edmund retires hurt in third-round match against Denis Shapovalov – as it happened Read more

For Edmund, who left the court red-eyed and despondent, this was a sad way to go, although Shapovalov deserved his win after going the high-risk route of big winners and borderline errors to lead 3-6, 6-3, 6-3, 1-0 when they shook hands at the net.

“It got very sore and tight [midway through the third set] and locked up a bit,” Edmund said. It was a new injury, not the flaring of an old one and might have been caused by his increased summer workload – or even an uncomfortable hotel pillow or mattress. “It’s all ifs, buts, maybes, isn’t it? It was such a horrible way to go out,” he added. He expects to be fit to resume the Tour shortly, though.

“It’s never good to win this way,” Shapovalov said. “Hopefully it’s nothing too serious. Kyle’s been playing tremendous tennis. I saw and heard something was up just before he called the trainer [when Britain’s last representative in the men’s draw was up 3-2 on serve in the third set] but I’m just happy to be in the third round.

“I thought I had a lot of chances in the first set, but it wasn’t clicking. I just had to stay aggressive and I knew my chances would come – and they did in the second. What happened in the third was just very unfortunate.”

Shapovalov next plays the Spaniard, Pablo Carreño Busta, who made relatively short work of the French marathon man, Nicolas Mahut, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 on Louis Armstrong.

Shapovalov said: “He plays big but I’ve been playing some tough guys.” And he had the good grace to acknowledge one of them was Edmund.

The British player’s quiet demeanour disguises his burning desire to deliver on his considerable promise and, having experienced the thrill of sharing this stage with Novak Djokovic last year, he said beforehand he felt ready to continue operating at the highest level.

That might sound a quiet ambition but the demands of the tour are considerable – from fitness to the level of opposition – and today’s promises are not always fulfilled tomorrow, or ever. His good friend, Dan Evans, who came so close to beating the eventual champion, Stan Wawrinka, before going on to have his best summer then coping with the hell of suspension after an out-of-competition indiscretion with cocaine, briefly knew that sensation. Edmund makes regular references to “Evo” as if he would love to have him back as a companion-at-arms.

Instead, this time around in New York, he went through what Andy Murray has experienced in slams for years: progression through a major without a single British player for company. Now there are none.

When Edmund broke Shapovalov after six minutes to lead 2-0 in the first set and then held, it looked very much as if he would surpass his Arthur Ashe experience of 2016. He was hitting the ball with conviction against a prospect who has attracted an inordinate amount of attention, widely and perhaps prematurely hailed as a future champion without having a major trophy to show for it.

The vacuum left by Borna Coric’s gritty win over Alexandr Zverev this week demonstrated that prodigies can eat themselves with just as much ferocious intent as can the established stars of the game.

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Edmund, at 22, has been around longer than the young Canadian, but they already have a win apiece against each other. Shapovalov finally got on the board after quarter of an hour, holding, and Edmund gifted him the break with his first double fault.

The trick for young players when they are thrown together in matches a long way from their usual workplace is, they are told, to enjoy it. After half an hour, Edmund looked had more reason to smile, 5-3 up after breaking back and serving out the first set with impressive power off the ground and an ace after saving break point.

But there was little in it. While Shapovalov’s eagerness to go for the lines cost him 15 unforced errors, he remained dangerous in every exchange.

Edmund’s inclination for steadiness was paying a gradual rather than spectacular dividend. He beat the Canadian in their famous Davis Cup match on a disqualification after Shapovalov inadvertently struck the chair umpire with the ball, and lost to him on merit at Queen’s. They are well suited as opponents.

Shapovalov squandered two break points in the fourth game as he kept faith in his hitting skills but was rewarded when Edmund finally struck long. A storming hold to 15 put Shapovalov 4-1 up just under the hour. His concentration snapped in the seventh game with two double faults, but he hung on through deuce.

Edmund saved four set points to hold for 3-5 but neither was hitting with consistency nor conviction under pressure. Shapovalov got to set point again on his serve and this time sealed it, punching the air. The end, when it came, was an anti-climax for left field. But Edmund can take away a couple of excellent wins in the first two rounds. This was his 10th match in a fortnight. Stamina and strength might still be a challenge.