After a frustrating 12 months on the ATP Tour, Britain’s Kyle Edmund took home the title at the New York Open and in doing so won $120,635 and perhaps more crucially, 250 FedEx ATP Rankings points that put him firmly back in the upper ATP rankings as Britain’s best male tennis player.
At 25-years-old, Edmund is ranked as the 45th best men’s tennis player in the world and he certainly earned his first ATP Tour title in 16 months, the Bahamas-based Brit beating Italian player Andreas Seppi in the final.
While the first set was an even affair decided by a late break and gutsy hold that saw Edmund take it 7-5, his dominance over the latter stages of Sunday’s contest saw him win eight of the last nine games as the 98-seeded Seppi was simply blown away by the power and precision of Edmund’s groundstrokes.
For Seppi, the defeat marks another setback, and in particular against Edmund, who he has a dreadful record against, winning just one of the six games they have shared.
“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 told reporters after his latest ATP trophy win.
While Edmund seemed strong throughout his New York Open journey, dropping just one set on his way to victory, Seppi had to save an early match point against him, only scraping past the Bosnian player Damir Dzumhur in the Round of 32. By contrast, Edmund dismissed 97th-place ranked Yasutaka Uchiyama 7-6, 6-4.
In the Round of 16, Edmund had an even better win, triumphing 6-2, 6-4 against Dominik Koepfer, before winning from a set down in a final set tie-break against the trickier Soonwoo Kwon in the quarter-finals.
In the semi-finals, Edmund traded blows with Miomir Kecmanovic, but in truth what should ave been the closest match of the tournament was Edmund’s easiest, as the British player destroyed the 54th place ranked Kecmanovic 6-1, 6-4. After the straight sets win over Seppi in the final, Edmund took to Twitter to announce just how happy he was with his win.
Allez! 🏆💫 Thank you for all your support. @nyopentennis @atptour pic.twitter.com/2j12aS95Zg
— Kyle Edmund (@kyle8edmund) February 17, 2020
Kyle Edmund’s New York Open Route to Victory:
| Round | Opponent | Rank | Score | |||
| Round of 32 | Yasutaka Uchiyama | 97 | 7-6, 6-4 | |||
| Round of 16 | Dominik Koepfer | 94 | 6-2, 6-4 | |||
| Quarter-Finals | Soonwoo Kwon | 84 | 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 | |||
| Semi-Finals | Miomir Kecmanovic | 54 | 6-1, 6-4 | |||
| Final | Andreas Seppi | 98 | 7-5, 6-1 | |||
Edmund’s victory over Seppi could well symbolize a return to form for the South African-born player who holds a special place in British tennis fans’ hearts, having grown up in the shadow of Andy Murray but always given his all on court. As you can see from the highlights of his victory against Andreas Seppi, that was especially true in New York City over the weekend:
