British No.2 Jacob Fearnley defeated Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena to advance to the round of 16 of the Barcelona Open.
In his first-ever main draw match on clay at an ATP 500 tournament, Fearnley won 6-1 7-5 in an impressive performance – after being selected as a ‘lucky loser’ when Jordan Thompson withdrew earlier today.
There was a medical time out for Baena in the second set after suffering with an issue in his abdominal area. When he returned to court, Fearnley dominated and sealed his win in straight sets.
The 23-year-old Scot will play either Tomas Martin Etcheverry or Alex De Minaur in the next round.
Now sitting at 74th in the men’s ATP singles rankings, Fearnley will be hoping to make his debut at the French Open next month and build on a breakthrough year.
After graduating from TCU in May, Fearnley turned pro but recorded the fifth biggest ranking jump into the top 100 since 2000, according to ATP statistics.
He faced Novak Djokovic in the second round of Wimbledon, giving the 24-time champion a scare, and reached the third round of the Australian Open in January, where he lost to Alexander Zverev.
