Australian Open 2025: Jacob Fearnley loses to Alexander Zverev in Melbourne
Twelve months ago Fearnley was a college student in the United States competing on the third level ITF World Tour.
While all eyes were on the Melbourne Park star, he was celebrating winning the M25 title in Luxembourg.
Now in one of the fastest-rising rankings on the ATP Tour, Fearnley is in the top 100 in the world, on equal footing with the best players.
It would be a shock if Fearnley reaches the last 16 on his debut in Melbourne.
Zverev is one of the biggest servers in the game and it was no surprise that Fearnley was unable to get into his opponent’s serve initially, despite being a sharp returner.
The score gap between the two sides was not big in the first set, but Fearnley’s loss of his own serve in the sixth game was decisive.
One worrying sign was Fearnley moving gingerly between points near the end of the set with what appeared to be a lower back problem.
Fearnley left the court for a medical timeout after Zverev took the lead, and he came back looking more relaxed.
He failed to convert two break points in the second game and looked to have paid the price when Zverev broke for a 4-2 lead.
Keeping his composure is one of the Scot’s greatest strengths and he hit right back with an aggressive counter-attack.
However, he was immediately broken again and Zverev served confidently to take a two-set lead.
A lapse in concentration on odd service games also proved costly in the third set.
Although Fearnley caught Zverev’s serve for the second time to tie the score at 2-2, Fearnley was unable to maintain his level or concentration and was broken in the next game, Zvi Lev didn’t relinquish the lead.
