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.”
This match also provided a glimpse into the gamesmanship that top players sometimes implement against lower-ranked opponents. Before each contest at the US Open, players must congregate outside a corridor inside Arthur Ashe Stadium that leads to each court. When their names were called over the loudspeaker, Fearnley immediately appeared at 6.50pm. He would spend another 10 minutes waiting quietly for his opponent. Zverev was ordered on three occasions to report for his match before he finally arrived.
Asked if he was irritated by his opponent’s tardiness, Fearnley hesitated before choosing his words carefully. He noted that top players often move at their own pace, which he learned for the first time before his match against Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon last year.
“I kind of expected it,” Fearnley said. “I mean, it was the same [against Zverev] in Australia, and he kind of is always like, ‘I’m sorry about that’, but he knows what he’s doing. It was the same with Novak in Wimbledon. They take their time, which is, I don’t know if it’s within the rules or not.
“I don’t really know what the rule is, I just don’t. But … If they call me, I show up, because I don’t know necessarily what’s going to happen. But no, he’s well within his right to take his time. I kind of expected it. My coach expected it. Every time I played him, he kind of did the same.”
Fearnley is still just 14 months into his career as a professional player and the 24-year-old is still in the process of gaining experience each week. Alongside his considerable potential, he has certain shortcomings to address. After striking 18 double faults in his four-set first round win over Roberto Bautista Agut, against Zverev he struck 12 double faults, including on numerous important points.
“In practice, I can sit there all day and make 100 second serves in a row,” he said. “It’s not an issue. But there’s just something about seeing the lights, seeing the courts, that gets a little bit tricky. And also having Alex Zverev on the other side of the net, and with that noise, that crowd, it’s sometimes difficult.
“I’ll keep working on it but I’ll figure it out eventually. I know there’s a lot of players that have had similar things in the past, but they’ve seemed to work through and I’m sure I’ll do the same.”
