When asked about the closing moments of his first-round win over Alejandro Moro Canas, sealed with a third set tie-break, Jacob Fearnley’s response was refreshingly relatable, given the reward for winning that match was a date on Centre Court with the greatest men’s singles player of all time in Novak Djokovic. With that on the line, of course you would be distracted.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t watching the scores on Centre Court [where Djokovic defeated Vit Kopriva in straight sets]. It was getting in my head a little bit that I was going to have to play him,” Fearnley admitted after defeating Moro Canas 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (14-12). For a Scot to triumph a few hours after Andy Murray announced he would not be participating in the men’s singles felt almost comforting.
Fearnley, 22 years old and born in Edinburgh, is known as Jacob back home and Jake in the United States, where he has spent the past five years studying health and fitness at Texas Christian University, the alma mater of Britain No 2 Cameron Norrie.
Fearnley’s retired parents, Samantha and Craig, will be in attendance for the biggest match of their son’s life; just another significant landmark in what has been a meteoric couple of months. Victory over Charles Broom at the Nottingham Open marked his first singles ATP Challenger title, having entered as a qualifier. That followed his part in TCU’s National championship victory against Texas, with Fearnley captaining the team in his final year. “It’s a bit crazy, for sure. Obviously it’s come very unexpectedly,” admitted Fearnley.
College scholarship programmes are proving to be an increasingly popular stepping stone towards playing on tour, with Ben Shelton, who won the 2022 NCAA singles title, the 14th seed at Wimbledon having reached the semi-finals of the US Open last year.
“There are a few guys who have gone to university that I spent lots of time with when I was younger, who were top players in the under-12, under-14, and they just probably weren’t ready to go pro. Jacob Fearnley is one of those,” said Jack Draper, the British No 1 who came through his own first-round match in five sets on Tuesday. “Look at [Fearnley’s] results, he hasn’t lost many matches on the 25s and challengers. I think he’ll be someone who rises up very quickly in the rankings. I think it will be interesting to see how he gets on against Djokovic. I think he’s an amazing player and a good guy, too.”
Draper is certainly right about the rankings, with Fearnley having risen more than 350 places since the end of last year to now sit at 277 in the world. Facing Djokovic is pinch yourself territory, given Fearnley could recall watching Murray defeat Djokovic 11 years ago to win his first Wimbledon title.
“I was watching that TV in my living room, glued to my couch. I didn’t move. It was a great match,” Fearnley said, before discussing his respect for Murray.
“He’s the best role model that a British tennis player can have, especially a Scottish player like myself. I watched him growing up, the way he climbed up the rankings, the way he competes, the way he plays, it’s super special to see.
“Yeah, I mean, I take a lot of what he does and try to implement it in my game. Yeah, if I have any kind of success like he’s had on the tour, I’ll be super happy. Yeah, super grateful for what he’s done for the sport.”
Fearnley faced top seeds Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner as a junior, when he also played in practice sessions with Roger Federer at Wimbledon back in 2018. “I mean, he’s a super nice guy. Obviously a really, really special player. I learned a lot of things from those brief practice sessions,” he said.
Thursday against Djokovic however is on a whole new level. How exactly do you defeat him? “That’s a good question. I don’t think many people have the answer to that,” Fearnley admitted. “I have no idea. I’ve watched so many videos of him. It doesn’t look like there’s many flaws in his game. I’m going to just try and enjoy it, put my game out on the court and see what happens.”
Riding the biggest wave of his career, there might be no better time to face the seven-time champion.
