Jacob Fearnley beaten in straight sets by world No 2 Alexander Zverev as Brit’s fairytale Australian Open run comes to an end
Jacob Fearnley’s Australian Open adventure is over as he was outclassed by No2 seed Alexander Zverev.
After two raucous and rollocking wins this week the 23-year-old Scot found himself in the more clinical environment of the Margaret Court Arena and he was surgically taken apart by Zverev.
But this 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 defeat was far from an embarrassment. The Scot was the first man at this Australian Open to break the Zverev serve and he did it twice. It was not quite as impressive as taking Novak Djokovic to four tight sets on Centre Court last year but Fearnley has acquitted himself well in his first two brushes with greatness.
‘He’s an incredible player,’ said Zverev, 27, after the match. ‘He went through all the stages: he went to college, Futures, Challengers and now he’s in the third round of a Grand Slam. I’ve got massive respect for him and the effort he has put into the sport.’
Fearnley will leave Australia with a cheque for £150,000, a new career-high ranking of 77 and, most importantly, bags of confidence and experience as he begins his first full season on the tour.
He will also leave having made something of a name for himself here in Melbourne.
Jacob Fearnley’s Australian Open run came to an end as he was beaten by Alexander Zverev
World No 2 Zverev beat the Brit 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in straight sets, but Fearnley was courageous
Zverev was full of praise for Fearnley following the match and called him an ‘incredible player’
When I told my taxi driver on Friday morning where I was from, he wanted to talk not about Jack Draper or Emma Raducanu, but Fearnley.
Just under a million Aussies watched Fearnley’s win against Nick Kyrgios on Monday and he left an impression with his probing offensive style and sangfroid amid the mayhem.
After the Kyrgios carnival on John Cain and a wild ride against Arthur Cazaux on Court 6, which had a bar on one side and a troupe of French fans on the other, this was a much different atmosphere.
The first few games played out in almost silence before the sleepy afternoon crowd. They were keen to get behind Fearnley but he came out nervous and in the opening exchanges hit three shots that were probably among the worst of his brief career: a backhand that missed by miles, a second serve that barely made the singles court and then a forehand hit square into the bottom of the net.
He still managed to hold for 1-1 and that got him going. But at 2-3 he hit a double fault on the way to being broken.
Fearnley took a toilet break after the first set, presumably as much to clear his head as his bladder.
He was much improved in the start of the second set. His opponent broke first but Fearnley struck back immediately, playing his best game of the match to breach the Teutonic fortress of the Zverev serve for the first time this fortnight.
His tactics were spot on: play mainly on the Zverev forehand and if you go to his backhand, go hard; come forward where possible and mix in drop shots to punish the German’s propensity to hang back.
Fearnley leaves Australia with a £150,000 pay cheque and a new career-high ranking of 77
Unfortunately Fearnley followed up his best game of the match with his worst, double faulting and dumping a backhand volley into the net. Zverev served out the second set and was pretty much home.
There is plenty to like about Fearnley’s game. His technique is economical, especially his jab of a two-handed backhand. He is a front-foot player and is more comfortable than most moving into the net.
The next stage of his development will be to improve his defensive play and continue to juice up his serve – a shot he is working hard on.
The tennis world, and especially our little British corner of it, will be following his progress this season with interest and expectation.
