Jacob Fearnley defying his own expectations at Rothesay Open

By James Reid

Jacob Fearnely admitted his run at the LTA’s Rothesay Open in Nottingham is defying all expectations after the 22-year-old booked his place in the semi-finals.

Fearnley got past third seed and world No.96 Shang Juncheng 7-5 7-5 to continue a sparkling run that began back in the first round of qualifying.

The Edinburgh-born player battled both his opponent and the weather on a day heavily impacted by rain, with the Scot holding strong at a number of key junctures to hold off his Chinese opponent, who sits 429 places higher in the world rankings.

Fearnley will now play Mattia Bellucci for a place in the final, after the Italian beat fellow Texas Christian University graduate Jack Pinnington Jones earlier on Saturday.

Fearnley and Pinnington Jones both shone during their time in Fort Worth, as they helped their side to the National Collegiate Athletic Association title before returning home for a British summer on the grass.

And Fearnley reflected that his return to home soil could not have gone much better and admitted he was thrilled with the way he dealt with everything thrown at him en route to victory.

“I am super happy,” he said. “It was a great match. A little rain delay and there was a super tight game a 4-4 that I was able to get through and I feel that helped.

“That gave me the momentum to close out the match. I am just super happy to be able to be in the semi-final after coming through qualifying, I couldn’t ask for much more.

“I am most pleased with the way I was able to come back from adversity. I faced a lot of great points when I came back out at 4-4, the rain delay and then also I was down a break in the first set.”

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