Eighth-seeded Brit Kyle Edmund wasted no time getting down to business on Saturday at the New York Open, racing into the final with a 6-1, 6-4 win over sixth seed and #NextGenATP Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic.
”This is great to be back in a final, playing the matches you want to be playing,” Edmund said. “I obviously want to go all the way, but I’m enjoying my tennis. I’ve kept improving and learning with each match.”
Edmund is through to his first tour-level final in 16 months, when he captured his maiden ATP Tour crown in Antwerp (d. Monfils). The 25-year-old has dropped just one set this week and moves to 6-3 this season.
[ATP APP]The first five games of the match went to deuce, but Edmund came out on top in all of them. Striking his forehand with authority, he used that wing to bully Kecmanovic throughout their baseline exchanges. The Serbian scored a moral victory by holding serve at 0-5, but Edmund comfortably grabbed the early advantage in the next game.
Kecmanovic raised his level in the second set and stayed with Edmund throughout most of it, but the Brit found a new gear in the final minutes of the match. Edmund took 12 of the last 13 points, breaking his opponent to love at 4-4 and firing three aces in the next game to wrap up play after 72 minutes.
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Standing between Edmund and his second ATP Tour title is Italian Andreas Seppi, who ended the dream run of qualifier Jason Jung of Chinese Taipei with a 6-3, 6-2 win. The 35-year-old, currently No. 98 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, seeks his first tour-level crown since 2012 Moscow (d. Bellucci).
Edmund leads his ATP Head2Head series with Seppi 4-1, including a victory last month in Auckland.
"When you're in the semi-finals or final, of course you want to win the title. Tomorrow is another chance and I'll just try my best," Seppi said. "[Jung] is coming through the qualifying and had some great wins. He has a really solid game and it was my best match of the week. I played really well from the beginning to the end, very solid, no mistakes."
Perhaps feeling the effects of five matches in the previous six days, Jung's groundstrokes were not as reliable as they had been throughout the week. He dropped serve in the opening game and struggled to handle the variety of spins from the Italian. Seppi raced to a 4-1 lead and coaxed another baseline error out of Jung as the qualifier served at 3-5, enabling him to break again and take the opening set.
Seppi continued to pour it on the second set, breaking Jung to love for a commanding 3-1 lead. He racked up 13 break points throughout the night and converted five, including one on match point, to prevail in one hour and 24 minutes.
