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Kyle Edmund, Brisbane International 2018
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Mike Frey/BPI/REX/Shutterstock (9304984j) Kyle Edmund of Great Britain in action at the Brisbane International Brisbane International, Queensland Tennis Centre, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Brisbane International tennis tournament, Australia - 02 Jan 2018

Andujar coasts past Edmund in Marrakech final, quick turnaround for Monte Carlo R1 Seppi clash

Ros Satar
Tennis

By Ros Satar

  • Pablo Andujar [PR] def. Kyle Edmund [2] 6-2 6-2
  • Quick turnaround for Edmund as he heads to the Monte Carlo Masters for a first round clash against Andreas Seppi
MARRAKECH, MORROCO – Kyle Edmund’s first ATP final ended up being one he’d rather forget as he was beaten by two-time former champion Pablo Andujar.

 

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ATP Marrakech Final: Pablo Andujar [PR] def. Kyle Edmund [2] 6-2 6-2

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What had looked like a dream run for the British No. 1 Kyle Edmund ended up in disappointment as he lost the Marrakech final to tour veteran Pablo Andujar. Saturday had been tough on both players after the tournament quarter-finals were completely rained out on the Friday with both quarter-finals and semi-finals having to be played on the same day.

In fact Andujar had the harder time of it, battling into the semi-finals in three sets, while Edmund’s outings were delayed as the centre court had to be made ready. However, Edmund had looked in commanding form.

Come the final though it was a very different story. Andujar won the Moroccan titles back to back (when the tournament was held in Casablanca, and one other in 2014 in Gstaad and his experience with three clay court titles under his belt showed.

The Spaniard was in dominant form from the start, breaking Edmund swiftly twice to jump out to a 3-0 lead. He responded just as forcefully after Edmund quelled the obvious nerves to get one of the breaks back, by extending his lead with another break of the Brit’s serve.

The second set started in the same way, with Edmund and from there Andujar never looked in any danger of losing his grip on the final. Even when Edmund clawed a break back after losing his serve once more, Andujar tightened his grip to break once more before serving out for a fourth clay court title.

Edmund said, in his on-court interview: “Congratulations to Pablo and his team… it was a good tournament for me, a first final, a great experience for me, always learning. It’s been a good year so far. Not the result I wanted but nevertheless a good week for me.”

 

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ATP Monte Carlo R1: Kyle Edmund v Andreas Seppi [Q] | H2H: Edmund leads 2-0

With the Monte Carlow draw being juggled around thanks to a couple of withdrawals, Edmund will now face qualifier Andreas Seppi in a swift turnaround. He might feel buoyed by the fact he already holds an impressive 2-0 lead in their head to head, and will need a little confidence after being out-shone in Sunday’s final.

There is a lot to take from this though – this was his best run since making the Australian Open semi-final, since which he has struggled with injury, illness and the long march back to form.

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Seppi will have had a little more time to adjust to the courts in Monte Carlo, where Edmund made it to the second round last year, losing to Rafael Nadal. Seppi, a former Top 20 player has been languishing a little rankings-wise, not helped with having to skip Indian Wells and Miami due to a hip injury.

This is a tough one to call. There was some encouraging play on show from Edmund, but maybe nerves got the better of him on the day, and he will need to get his head back in the game. He could be pushed a little here.

Prediction: Edmund in three sets.