Third seed grinds down Briton 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
Fearnley kept waiting for more than 10 minutes before match
Even before Jacob Fearnley entered Louis Armstrong Stadium for his clash with Alexander Zverev on Thursday night in New York, the mind games had already begun. In the build up to their US Open second round match, the third seed kept Fearnley waiting for more than 10 minutes before finally showing up for their match, where he defeated Fearnley 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the third round.
Despite competing hard and showing flashes of his talent by attempting to dominate the baseline with his forehand and close down the net, Fearnley ended his first US Open main draw appearance with another valuable lesson against one of the best players in the world. Across their 2 hours and 28 minutes on court, Zverev ground the Briton down with his consistency, solid counterpunching and dominant serving, outplaying his more volatile opponent by giving away so few points easily.
“I think it was pretty obvious what I was trying to do – come to the net and disrupt his rhythm – because I think he’s just very, very solid and he’s not going to give me much,” Fearnley said. “And then I was obviously fluctuating, and it’s tough to kind of keep that level throughout the whole match. And I gave myself chances, but I just didn’t capitalise. Obviously he’s a great player, so can’t be too disappointed, I guess.”
