Australian Open 2025: Jacob Fearnley reflects on 'awesome' week following third round exit to Alexander Zverev
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Jacob Fearnley’s Australian Open campaign might have come to an end following a third round defeat to Alexander Zverev but the young Brit has plenty of positives to take away from an encouraging week Down Under.
Judging by Fearnley’s confident performances, you wouldn’t have guessed this was only his second major tournament.
The Brit - who is supported by our Pro Scholarship Programme, presented by Lexus - earned direct entry into the first Grand Slam of the season following a breakthrough season last year but looked comfortably at home on the big stage during his run to the third round.
After downing home favourite Nick Kyrgios in straight sets in his first round match, the British No.3 went on to fight from a set down to defeat rising French star Arthur Cazaux in four to set up a blockbuster third round meeting with world No.2 Zverev, where he eventually suffered a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 loss.
Although his run in Melbourne has come to a close, Fearnley walks away with several positives and lessons to carry forward into the remainder of the season.
“It’s been awesome,” the 23-year-old said, reflecting on his Australian Open journey. “Obviously it was an extremely, extremely good week for me.
“The fans were amazing, I played some incredible matches and had some more incredible experiences. So, yeah, I’m extremely thankful for the last couple of weeks really and I'm looking forward to coming back in the future.”
His third round battle was always going to be a tough one against the two-time Grand Slam runner-up, but the British No.3 put up a strong account of himself on the Margaret Court Arena.
Fearnley struck marginally more winners than the German - firing home 27 across the match to Zverev’s 25 - and consistently caused his opponent issues with his ferocious forehand.
However, it was the experience of competing on the ATP tour and at Grand Slams that ultimately led Zverev to a straight sets victory.
“I like to play aggressive, so obviously it's going to be difficult for me to kind of maintain that level all the time.
“He's (Zverev) extremely solid, and obviously he's got a massive serve. He chooses the right opportunities to go for the ball. I think for me that will come with experience, just knowing when to maybe go for it and maybe when just to play solid.
“I wanted to try and take it to him as best that I could, because I think if I played too passive, that was going to play into his hands. That's what I tried to do. I think I don't have any regrets with how I played the match."
His run to the third round at the Australian Open will see him break into the world’s top 80 after the tournament has concluded. Considering he only began his professional tennis career eight months ago, this is an incredible achievement for the 23-year-old and he’s certain to ascend higher with no ranking points to defend until the Rothesay Open Nottingham in June.
We’re only in the opening stages of the 2025 season and with plenty of tournaments and opportunities on the horizon for Fearnley, he’s making sure to not put too much pressure on himself and instead, soak up all the new experiences he’s set to face.
“I think all I can do is be the best I can be. If I keep working hard and keep doing the right things, then good things will happen - hopefully the sky is the limit.
“I’m just trying to take things day by day, keep improving, and see what I can do and hopefully can win some more matches somewhere down the line.”
Fearnley is now switching his attention to the Davis Cup where he’s been called up to join Leon Smith’s Lexus GB team for the first time.
Joined by compatriots Cam Norrie, Billy Harris and Neal Skupski, Fearnley could be set to make his debut for Great Britain should he be selected to play Japan in the Brits’ first round qualifying tie between the 31 January - 1 February.
“It's a dream come true,” Fearnley added when asked what it means to be selected. “I think every tennis player wants to represent their country so, to get the opportunity to do that is amazing.
“Going to Japan, which will be cool - I've never been. I’m looking forward to that also and to play with some good players and hopefully have a good tie. It will be amazing.”
