New York Open 2020: Kyle Edmund downs unseeded Andreas Seppi to win the title
What's the story?
British tennis star Kyle Edmund overcame the challenge from his unseeded Italian rival Andreas Seppi to win the New York Open 2020 championship. The former world number 14 Edmund was stretched in the first set but he made short work of Seppi in the second to win the match 7-5, 6-1.
The background
Edmund, who had made the Australian Open semifinals in 2018, faced little competition from his rivals on his way to the New York Open final. Seeded eighth in the tournament, Edmund kicked off his campaign with a 7-5, 6-4 win against Yasutaka Uchiyama in the first round. He then eliminated Dominik Koepfer in the second before facing his stiffest challenge in the third round, needing three sets to beat Kwon Soon-woo.
Edmund finally defeated sixth seed Miomir Kecmanovic in straight sets to progress to the finale.
On the other hand, Seppi started with a three-set win over Damir Dzumuhur. Steve Johnson was the next to lose to fall to the Italian, while Jordan Thompson caved after winning the first set of their quarterfinal match.
Jason Jung proved to be no match for Seppi in the semifinals as the 35-year-old won the match 6-3, 6-2.
The heart of the matter
It looked like the final battle between the two European players would prove to be a clash of equals, but Edmund ended up dominating the proceedings. He won 94% of his first serve points and fired 11 aces in the match, and broke three times.
Seppi on his part did not even get a single break point opportunity, and could only win eight receiving points in the match.
What's next?
After falling down in the ATP Rankings, Edmund will look to seize the momentum that he has generated and storm back into the top 20 once again.