Great Britain's Kyle Edmund waited for over a year to win his second ATP-Tour level title, but finally achieved this feat at the 2020 New York Open on Sunday.
Edmund defeated Italian journeyman Andreas Seppi 7-5 6-1 in an hour and 2i minutes, hitting 11 aces and winning an astounding 94% of points on his first serve.
After last winning in Antwerp in 2018, Edmund has shown some inconsistency that finally culminated with him claiming the trophy in New York. Seeded eighth and an outside shot to win the tournament, the Brit displayed some superb tennis last week that saw him face the veteran Seppi in the final.
Edmund had a relatively easy route to the final, defeating sixth seeded Miomir Kecmanovic in his semifinal. Seppi faced and overcame Chinese Taipei's Jason Jung,
who had upset seventh seed Cameron Norrie along the way.
Although Seppi matched Edmund in the first set, the Italian faltered when serving to push proceedings to a tiebreak at 5-6. After accumulating two set points, Edmund converted on his first and claimed the first set in 45 minutes.
The eighth seed fed off his momentum to begin the second set, racing to a 3-0 lead. Applying more pressure to the Italian's serve, Edmund won 67% of points off his opponent's second serve. Furthermore, he upped his aggressive play from the baseline, allowing him to obtain an insurance break at 4-1.
With Seppi unable to match Edmund's intensity, the Brit served out the match and captured his second career ATP trophy.
Edmund now has a 7-3 record this season, and the 25-year old credited his success to all his hard work during the off-season.
”There’s a lot hard work throughout the year, a lot of ups and downs that you don’t see behind the scenes. To win this title means a lot to me,” Edmund said after the match.
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