By Chris Oddo | Sunday October 21, 2018
It was nip-and-tuck the whole way, and that's what made it sweeter in the end.
When it was done, a teary-eyed Kyle Edmund celebrated his maiden ATP title with gusto on Sunday in Antwerp after edging Gael Monfils 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(4) in a three-set thriller that came down to the wire.
It was the British No.1's first title in what has been a season of firsts.
Edmund raised his game over the final two sets, and fought off the best that Monfils had to offer in an extremely tight decider before surging past the Frenchman in the third-set breaker to claim victory in two hours and 26 minutes.
It left the hard-charging Brit on the shoulder of a giant wave of emotion; it was clear that this title meant the world to him as he broke down in tears after clinching match point and shaking hands with Monfils at the net.
“I’m obviously very happy. A lot of hard work goes into this. So it’s just emotional,” Edmund told an appreciative crowd after the final. “You always remember this one. Gael made me work for it today, that’s for sure, so credit to him. I’m just so happy.”
After dropping the opener Edmund opened up a 4-2 lead in the second set before Monfils rallied and eventually forced a tiebreaker. It was there that Edmund asserted himself by racing out to a 5-1 lead at the changeover before converting his first set point to take it 7-2.
Each player earned a pair of break points in the final set but neither could convert. Edmund saved a pair to hold for 1-1 early in the third behind a pair of booming forehands; Monfils saved two break points from 4-4 15-40 with bomb serves and held for 5-5.
The third set tiebreaker was crisp and won on the thinnest of margins, with Monfils committing a shank forehand error for the critical mini-break that took Edmund to 5-3. Monfils closed to 5-4, but Edmund took the final two points on serve to claim the trophy.
Particularly sensational in this match was the steadiness of Edmund’s backhand. Known more for possessing one of the most lethal forehands in the game the British No.1 used his other wing to great effect, at times to maintain neutrality in rallies and at others to push aggressively.
It was a shot that he had to have against the fast feet, wicked athleticism and shot tolerance of Monfils.
The Frenchman came close to victory, but his ineptitude in ATP finals continues to be a source of frustration as his bid to win two titles in the same season fell short and he dropped to 7-21 lifetime in ATP finals.
Edmund improves to 1-1 in ATP finals after losing in Marrakech earlier this season, and will rise back to his career-high ranking of 14 with the win.
Edmund joins Stefanos Tsitsipas on the maiden ATP title winner list and becomes the 13th ATP player to have won his first title in 2018.