Kyle Edmund has powered into his first ATP Tour final since 2018 with a 6-1 6-4 victory over Serbian sixth seed Miomir Kecmanovic at the New York Open.
A day after all four quarter-finals went three sets, Edmund made quick work of the first semi-final at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The eighth seed broke Kecmanovic’s serve on his first two attempts en route to a 5-0 lead in the first set, then won the final nine points after trailing 4-3 in the second.
“Just my resilience I think in the end proved a little too much,” Edmund said.
He will be looking for his second career title on Sunday when he faces Italian Andreas Seppi, who beat Jason Jung 6-3 6-2 to move within a victory of his first title since 2012.
Edmund and Seppi have clashed five times, most recently in Auckland in January, when the Briton won in straight sets to improve his record against the 35-year-old to 4-1.
Edmund climbed as high as No.14 in the rankings – ending Andy Murray’s lengthy reign as the top British player – in October 2018.
He reached his lone grand slam semi-final earlier that year at the Australian Open and won his only title near the end of that season in Antwerp, Belgium.
But he battled a left knee injury in 2019 and tumbled more than 60 spots in the rankings within a year.
He looked healthy on Saturday on the black courts, easily chasing down drop shots and moving all over the baseline to win the rallies from the back.
“It definitely helps when you have confidence in your body and you feel like you’re there, you’re ready to go,” Edmund said.
“You feel like you’re able to give your best and obviously your performance physically improves as well.”
Jung eliminated Kevin Anderson and Reilly Opelka, the tournament’s past two champions, to make his first career semi-final after qualifying just to make the main draw.
But his run ended against the steady Seppi, who has won three titles but had gone nearly four years without getting back to a final until falling last year in Sydney.
“Tomorrow is one more final, another chance, and hopefully can play some good tennis again,” Seppi said.