Rising star Kyle Edmund is a win away from his maiden ATP final after overcoming a frustrated Steve Johnson 5-7, 6-3, 6-3, at the Winston-Salem Open.
The British-American clash was very much a test of the player’s patience. Edmund dropped the opening set after being broken whilst serving to stay within contention at 5-6. The Brit bounced back in the following set by impressively dropping just five points behind his serve to force a decider. The comeback triggered an outburst of anger from Johnson, who wasn’t afraid to express his frustration about losing the lead. From that moment on it was a calm Edmund who prevailed with the help of 37 unforced errors from his opponent.
Following the match, Edmund explained his decision to play a tournament a week before the US Open. Some might think it was to earn extra ranking points, but the Brit stated that he prefers to play matches than practice.
“It’s good to hit balls and practice points but you can’t replace real competition in matches,” Edmund said, according to journalnow.com. “So that’s why I decided to come here.”
“I didn’t want to train for two weeks and just hit the ball in between tournaments. It can become quite long just hitting balls and practicing points.” He added.
Damir Dzumhur will be Edmund’s semifinal opponent. Like the Brit, he will also be bidding to reach his maiden ATP Final. The Bosnian world No.67 secured his place with a 6-4, 6-2, win over 13th seed Hyeon Chung. Dzumhur’s preparation for the US Open has been somewhat different to his rivals. Between Los Cabos and Winston Salem, he also reached the final of a clay-court Challenger tournament in the Dominican Republic last week.
“I played a good match,” said Dzumhur. “All of my matches here have been good, but it was great to get to play on center court for the first time.”
Last year, Edmund lost to Dzumhur in five sets at the Australian Open.
Bautista Agut roars on
Top seed Roberto Bautista Agut didn’t face a single break point during his 6-2, 7-6(3) win over Taylor Fritz. The world No.15 hit five aces and won 85% of his first service points throughout the match.
“I think it was a great match,” Bautista Agut said. “I played very solid, and I returned very well. I’m playing better and better. I’m happy for that.”
Unlike other Spanish players, the majority of Bautista Agut’s success hasn’t occurred on the clay. Out of his five ATP titles, three have occurred on a hard court, one on grass and one on the clay. Bidding to win a sixth trophy this week, the Spaniard has confidence from his run to the final last year.
“It gives you confidence that you can play well, you play the final the year before,” he explained.
“So it makes me feel more comfortable and with more confidence than I played the year before.”
Jan-Lennard Struff will be the next test for the top seed. The German edged out Borna Coric 6-4, 7-6(2).
