Fearnley wins Lincoln Challenger, Scots make deep ITF runs, TS Open Tour latest

Jacob Fearnley was in the winner’s circle once again over the weekend as he picked up his second ATP Challenger title in Lincoln, Nebraska.    

Fearnley opened his week with a convincing 6-1 6-1 win over Gijs Brouwer of the Netherlands. In the second round Jacob upset top seed and 2023 Wimbledon quarter-finalist Christopher Eubanks 7-5 4-6 6-2 to move into the last eight. 

In the quarter-final Fearnley faced Aidan Mayo of the USA. Mayo clinched a tight first set, but Jacob bounced back to book his place in the semi-final 5-6 6-4 6-3. 

For a spot in the final, Fearnley was up against China’s Yunchaokete Bu who he had previously beaten in Nottingham for his first Challenger tour win. 

Bu struck first winning a commanding first set 6-0 but again Fearnely showed his resilience as he levelled the match by taking the second set 6-0.   

There was little in the final set but it was Bu who edged ahead and served for the match at 6-5. Fearnley managed to break straight back to force a third set deciding tie-break where he secured the win 7-3. 

The final saw Jacob play his doubles partner for the week Coleman Wong who was also on an impressive run as an unseeded player. 

Jacob continued his fine form dispatching Wong in the final 6-4 6-2 to win his second ATP Challenger title. 

The win sees Jacob move up to 162 in the ATP rankings as he sets his sights on New York City where he will compete in the US Open qualifying draw. 

Scots go deep in ITF pro circuit events  

Elsewhere, Scots were making dents in their ITF pro circuit draws as Ewen Lumsden and James Mackinlay had strong weeks in their respective events. 

Mackinlay once again teamed up with University of Stirling’s Liam Hignett to make the final of the M25 Roehampton.  

The pair have been enjoying recent success as they reached their first ATP Challenger final in July. 

Mackinlay and Hignett came through a tough battle to begin their campaign, managing to edge out Felix Mischker and Raffaello Papajcik 6-7(5) 6-3 10-8. 

The pair capitalised on their first round win by dispatching Australian duo Blake Mott and Thomas Patton 6-3 6-2 to move into the semi-final. 

They kept their form going as they tallied another straight sets win over Hugo Coquelin and Luca Pow 6-4 6-3 to advance to the final. 

However, it wasn’t to be in the title decider as Mackinlay and Hignett lost out to Cambridgeshire’s Tom Hands and Harry Wendelken 3-6 4-6.

In Ireland, Ewen Lumsden was competing at the M15 Dublin where he made a deep run in the singles draw. 

Lumsden began by defeating Edison Ambarzumjan of Germany 6-3 6-1 before going on to best Daniel Little 4-6 6-1 7-6(4) to reach the quarter-final. 

Lumsden kept his momentum as he breezed past Marcus Walters 6-2 6-2 to reach the final four. 

Ewen’s run was cut short by eventual winner Ben Jones in a thrilling encounter that was narrowly decided.  

Jones took the first set 6-4 before Lumsden battled back to win the second in a tie-break 7-6(8). The third set went the distance as well with Jones taking the deciding set 7-6(3). 

North East of Scotland Championships 

The TS Open Tour season continued in Aberdeen last week with Cults Tennis Club hosting the 2024 North East of Scotland Championships. 

Nicolas Rosenzweig won his fourth title of the season with an impressive run to the title. Seeded second, Rosenzweig but together a number of commanding wins to reach the semi-final where he then beat fifth seed Patrick Young 6-1 7-5 to set up a meeting with Kyle McKay. 

The final saw Rosenzweig continue his dominance, taking home the title 6-3 6-3. 

In the women’s draw, Holly Sheeran-Hall won her first title of the season. After receiving a first round bye, Sheeran-Hall overcame Katherine Cameron in a close first round 7-5 5-7 10-7.  

She then went on to beat Sophie Smart in the semi-final 6-3 6-3 to progress to the final. In the other half was Rose O’Donovan Mccann who was also enjoying a strong run having beaten top seed Claire Paterson. 

The final went the distance with Sheeran-Hall recovering from a set down to win the title 3-6 6-3 11-9. 

Kana Saito wins Tennis Europe 

East of Scotland’s Kana Saito took home silverware from the Lexus Junior International Aldershot last week. Kaito teamed up with Freya Jones as they were dominant throughout the tournament. 

The pair didn’t lose a set in their four-match title campaign as they defeated GB’s Sienna Grace and Poland’s Lena Kudla 6-3 6-1 in the final