Kyle Edmund beaten in straight sets by Pablo Andujar in Grand Prix Hassan II final
Sunday 15 April 2018 16:26, UK
Kyle Edmund must wait for his first ATP Tour title after he suffered a 6-2 6-2 defeat to Pablo Andujar in the final of the Grand Prix Hassan II.
Having overcome his semi-final hoodoo on Saturday with a pair of victories to reach his maiden final at this level, Edmund had hoped to claim a first trophy.
However the British No 1, seeded second in Marrakech, could not get going against his Spanish opponent, ranked 355 in the world but playing under a protected ranking after a string of elbow injuries.
Andujar is a two-time champion at the event, having claimed back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2012, and his 1hr 21min demolition of Edmund gave him the hat-trick.
Live ATP Masters Tennis
Edmund, who had lost his only two matches since reaching the Australian Open semi-final, had been peerless in beating Malek Jaziri and Richard Gasquet after Friday's rain had forced the players to play twice in a day on Saturday.
But he was up against it early on, broken in his first game and then twice more as Andujar raced to the first set.
The second was a similar story as Andujar put his injury problems behind him to claim his first career title since 2014.
Edmund can take solace from his first final and the fact that he will rise to a career high No 23 in the next rankings as he heads to Monte Carlo for the Masters, where he will face Alexandr Dolgopolov in the first round.
Coverage of the ATP Monte Carlo Rolex Masters gets underway from 9.30am on Sky Sports Arena on Monday.
Keep up to date with the latest on www.skysports.com/tennis with news, previews, live blogs, reports and expert analysis. On the move? Head to our app for mobile devices and iPad, or follow our Twitter account @SkySportsTennis to join in the conversation.
