Top seed Jacob Fearnley, from Edinburgh, came from a set down to defeat Frenchman Luc van Assche 3-6, 6-2. 6-3 and advance to the second round of the Roanne Challenger tennis tournament in France.
The 24-year-old Scot will now face Swiss qualifier Dominic Stricker in round two this evening (Wednesday).
This was a notable win for Fearnley against the former French Open junior champion given he has been out of action for more than six weeks and whose form beforehand had been rather chequered.
Shaking off first set rust he relied heavily on trademark heavy ground shots and the pivotal moment came when executing the only break of the third set to move 5-3 ahead before serving out.
Until then van Assche had held his ground then, on being subjected to facing a fourth break point, threw his racket across the base-line before hitting a loose shot to concede the game. Frustration, it seemed, had set in.
Trailing 0-30 in what was to prove the ultimate game Fearnley turned things around with some powerful serves – he did send down eight double faults but mostly early on – and will take enormous heart from coming through a tight encounter as he bids to return to the world’s top 50 having slipped to No 80 during a disappointing run of form.
Further encouragement should come with inclusion in next week’s higher ranked Nordic Open in Stockholm with plenty ranking points at stake.
Like van Assche Fearnley’s next opponent in Roanne is a former French junior champion who in senior tennis has beaten Tsisipas, Ruud and Berrettini on his way to a career best ranking of world No 88 in October, 2023. Since then, though, the 23-year-old has slipped to No 247.
