ATP weekly roundup: Edmund wins in US as Monfils doubles up in Rotterdam

Kyle Edmund made a long awaited return to form last week as he took the the trophy at the New York Open. He comfortably defeated Andreas Seppi 7-5 6-1 in the final to win his second tour title and first since October 2018.

25 year old Edmund only dropped once set across his five wins, which builds on a disappointing Australian Open where he failed to even win a set in his first round match vs Dusan Lajovic.

En route to the title the former Australian Open semi-finalist defeated Japan’s Yasutaka Uchiyama and Germany’s Dominik Koepfer in his first two matches, both in straight sets. Kyle’s toughest test came in the quarter final when he faced young South Korean Soonwoo Kwon. The 22 year old from Seoul stole the first set off Edmund, but lost the second and was defeated in a deciding third set tie-break.

Edmund faced 20 year old Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia in the semi-final. Ranked 14 places above the Brit, Kecmanovic has been a hot competitor on the ATP circuit since his arrival to the top 100 last year. Edmund dispatched the youngster with ease however, dropping just five games in a 6-1 6-4 victory.

Andreas Seppi stood in the way of the South African born Brit in the final. The Italian veteran is no stranger to a final, marking his tenth against Edmund. But at 35 years old, it appeared two length three set victories over Jordan Thompson and Damir Dzumhur may have got the better of Seppi. He slumped to defeat with little fight shown in reply to the hard hitting Edmund.

After finishing 2018 ranked 14th in the world, Edmund struggled to progress in 2019. He fell over 50 ranking places across the season and ended the year ranked 69th. So, this title may come as a big relief for the British number number two, who has now moved back into the world’s top 50.

After his victory Edmund said: “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.”

French number number one Gael Monfils made it two titles in two weeks as he won the ATP 500 crown in Rotterdam. This trophy comes after he also won the Marseille title last week, forming a 9 match winning streak.

After taking the Rotterdam crown last year, it is the first time in his career that Monfils has retained a title. The Parisian looked more than impressive whilst doing it, in fact he did not drop a set on course.

After getting the better of Joao Sousa and Gilles Simon he faced British number one Dan Evans in the quarter final. The Birmingham man had looked in fine form as he got the better of world number 17 Karen Khachanov, but Monfils was a step too far. The world number nine won 7-6 6-2.

After defeating seventh seed Filip Krajinovic, Monfils faced 19 year old Felix Auger Aliassime of Canada. Ranked 18th the youngster has impressed many in the last 12 months, being tipped as one to watch in the future. It was also his fourth tour final, but was to be his fourth loss.

The match had appeared to be an attractive one, with two top 20 players seemingly playing at the top of their form. But it was far from this as Auger-Aliassime appeared to let nerves get the better of him. Monfils eased past the young-gun 6-2 6-4.

The now 2019 and 2020 Rotterdam champion said: “It’s an amazing feeling for the first time for me to back it up. It is a different feeling I have never experienced in my career, so I feel grateful.”

And Monfils does not want to stop here. Despite being aged 33, which may be considered past the prime of most, he also expressed huge ambitions for the future. He said: “I would like to reach the final at another Masters 1000, why not try to win one and keep the dream alive? The dream is to win a Grand Slam and that is what I am playing for and training for. It is tough, but I believe that maybe one day I will be lucky enough to win one.”

There was one final tournament this week, in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires.

21 year old Casper Ruud won his first tour title after defeating lucky loser Pedro Sousa or Portugal in the final. The young Norwegian has moved to a career high of 34th.

This week sees the tour travel to Marseille, Rio de Janeiro and Delray Beach in Florida. Nick Kyrgios leads the field there, whilst Daniil Medvedev tops the Marseille draw and Australian Open finalist Dominic Thiem will be the bookies favourite in Brazil.