Jacob Fearnley secures maiden Grand Slam win on Wimbledon debut
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Jacob Fearnley enjoyed a debut to remember at Wimbledon on Tuesday after the 22-year-old recorded his first Grand Slam main draw win, to extend his dream summer on the grass.
Fearnley beat Spain’s Alejandro Moro Canas 7-5, 6-4, 7-6(12) in front of his home crowd on Court 8 at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.
He now joins Sonay Kartal as the second Brit to tick off this milestone in SW19, after she overcame Sorana Cirstea 3-6, 6-2, 6-0.
Speaking on his first round win, Fearnley said "I'm feeling great. To play on these courts was a great feeling and to get a win was really special".
In reaching the second round, Fearnley now sets up a blockbuster meeting against seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic, which will be staged on Thursday.
"It's a great prize to be playing Novak" Fearnley added. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't watching the score of his match on Centre Court and perhaps it got in my head a little bit.
"It's going to be intimidating but to share the court with a player like that would be really special."
Fearnley has spent the last five years playing college tennis at the Texas Christian University before returning to British soil where kick-started a remarkable summer on the grass.
Last month the 22-year-old entered the qualifying stages at the Rothesay Open Nottingham as an alternative, where he went on to qualify for the main draw of an ATP Challenger event for the first time. Just days later, Fearnley went on to become the fourth British man to clinch the title and was awarded with a main draw wild card to Wimbledon as a result of his triumph.
Despite playing his first-ever match at a major tournament, Fearnley showed little signs of nerves in the early stages of his clash against world No.188 Moro Canas. The rising star fought hard to create opportunities on the Spaniard’s serve, drawing out 10 break points across the match but needing just two to take a commanding advantage.
With neither player giving much away on serve in the third we headed towards a tie-break, which saw five match points come and go for the Briton. However, the Nottingham champion made it sixth time lucky as he closed out his first Grand Slam win with a blazing forehand winner into the corner.
The Championships, Wimbledon results & updates
Get all the latest results and updates from the British players competing at The Championships, Wimbledon between 1-14 July.
