Eighth-seeded Brit Kyle Edmund saved his best tennis for last on Sunday at the New York Open, winning eight of the last nine games in a comprehensive 7-5, 6-1 victory over Italian Andreas Seppi to take the title.
Edmund picked up his second ATP Tour crown, with his maiden trophy coming 16 months ago in Antwerp (d. Monfils). The 25-year-old improved to 7-3 this year and now leads Seppi 5-1 in their ATP Head2Head series, including a straight-sets victory last month in Auckland.
”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.
[ATP APP]Seppi put in an outstanding effort to reach the final after saving a match point in his opening-round win against Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The 35-year-old is still seeking his first ATP Tour crown since 2012 Moscow (d. Bellucci) and dropped to 3-7 in tour-level finals.
”He played a good match today and he deserved to win,” Seppi said. “I enjoyed my time on this court and played some good matches this week. I’ll take the positives from here and move forward.”
Both players traded comfortable service holds throughout most of the opening set. But with Seppi serving at 5-6, Edmund raised his level and added even more velocity to his groundstrokes. Using his forehand to push Seppi around the baseline, he earned a pair of set points and let out a roar after converting his first chance with a down-the-line backhand winner.
The grueling baseline rallies took their toll on Seppi in the second set and Edmund capitalised, grabbing 12 of the first 15 points for a 3-0 lead. The Brit continued to apply pressure in return games while remaining flawless on serve. The Brit dropped just eight service points throughout the day and won 94 per cent (31/33) of his first-serve points.
Edmund prevailed in another lengthy rally at 1-4 and earned an insurance break after the Italian pushed a slice backhand long. The Brit then closed out the match on his first try after one hour and 22 minutes.
Edmund earned 250 FedEx ATP Rankings points and a cheque for $120,635. Seppi picked up 150 points and $66,770.
