Jacob Fearnley wants to keep learning from the best after his fine Australian Open debut was ended by a straight-sets loss to second seed Alexander Zverev in the third round.

The Scot continues to take the upper levels of the professional game comfortably in his stride and he did not look out of place against one of the tournament favourites on Margaret Court Arena.

But he could not maintain any sustained pressure on Zverev, who wrapped up a 6-3 6-4 6-4 victory in two hours and two minutes.

Fearnley struck marginally more winners, with his forehand causing Zverev consistent problems, but there were also 34 unforced errors compared to only 15 for the German.

“I thought I played some good tennis, some good moments, some low moments,” said Fearnley. “I don’t think there was too much in it. Just a few points here and there.

“I think that’s what those top guys do so well. They keep composed, and their base level just stays the same throughout the whole match. Mine went quite up and down, which I think is what cost me the match.

“He’s 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 thought I missed some balls by such small margins. That’s enough.

“It’s a big confidence boost, knowing that I can compete against some of the best players in the world, it’s really cool to see.

“He’s number two in the world, he’s probably playing some of the best tennis on the planet right now. So, to have that experience, I learned a lot about my game, about what I need to do better.”

It has nevertheless been an excellent week for Fearnley, who defeated Nick Kyrgios and the Australian crowd in the first round before coming from a set down to see off Arthur Cazaux in round two.

Less than eight months into his professional tennis career, Fearnley will break into the world’s top 80 after the tournament, and he is certain to go higher with no ranking points to defend until June.

“It’s been awesome,” said the 23-year-old. “Obviously an extremely good week for me. An unbelievable tournament. The fans were amazing. I played some incredible matches and had some more incredible experiences. It’s really cool to see the progression and to be where I am now.”

The same week last year, Fearnley was paying college tennis for Texas Christian University and it was not until the grass-court season last summer that he began his professional career.

He has already faced two of the best players in the world on the biggest stages after taking a set off Novak Djokovic on his grand slam debut at Wimbledon last summer.

Zverev’s strength on serve and a couple of loose games after breaking the German in sets two and three stopped a repeat here, but Fearnley’s game held up well.

Zverev had not dropped serve in his first two matches so that was a feather in the cap of the Scot, who really looked to step into the court after taking a medical timeout for a back niggle at the end of the first set.

Fearnley will stay in Melbourne prior to another new experience when he travels to Japan for his first Davis Cup tie at the end of this month.