Jacob Fearnley gave himself an early birthday present – 25 on Wednesday – and made challenger tennis history as he came roaring back to claim the Hall of Fame Open title in Newport, Rhode Island, with a 5-7, 7-6, 6-4 victory over Australian Adam Walton.
It was a comeback for the ages; the first time in a challenger final that a player has saved as many as SIX match points since 2011.
The win moves Jacob up a whopping 36 places in the world rankings to 123. It also earns him a cool $33,650.
It was a fifth Challenger title for the ex-Colinton junior and the first since the Orleans indoor Open in 2004 just as he was bursting on to the scene, later than most, due to his US College commitments.
And yet he almost didn’t play in a tournament previously won by Greg Rusedski.
Jacob told The Providence Journal: “After Wimbledon I was debating coming or not because it was quite a quick turnaround. I’m so happy I did.”
Walton, world No 79, took the first set and raced away to lead 5-1 in the second. All seemed lost for the Edinburgh player.
“You relax. You think you are almost going home. You’re thinking. You’ve had a good week. And then things connect” he reflected, adding:
“I was making a few mistakes but my feeling on the ball was good. I felt ‘why not’. You have a swing and then an hour later you’re competing for the title.”
In the third set it was Walton who was up against it at 1-4 and after a bit of a stutter Jacob got the win over the line, by contrast on his FIRST match point.
“I was just happy to be there, I told myself to stay calm and enjoy it” said the Scot.
“You see people having amazing weeks out of nowhere all the time and people coming back from deficits all the time. That’s the beauty of sport and that’s what makes sport exciting – especially tennis.”
