Jacob Fearnley is into the semi-final of the Olbia Challenger tennis tournament in Sardinia after defeating Czech teenager Maxim Mrva 6-0, 7-6.
The result means Fearnley has come through the draw without dropping a set and he carried on where he left off against another Czech 19-year-old, Jan Kumstat, with a love set. That meant a consecutive 13 games won across the two matches.
Then the wheels threatened to come for the Edinburgh player as Mrva broke early in the second but in coming from behind – Jacob had a single match point receiving at 4-5 – Fearnley was the epitome of composure.
Indeed the brief turnaround seemed more about Mrva raising his game while Fearnley continued to ask questions on his serve and for arguably the first time in many matches he did not serve a single double fault.
Having missed the initial match point Fearnley had to stay calm when the Czech requested a brief medical time out at 5-5 but there was to be no break in the Scot’s momentum and secure rallying on either flank saw him home while continuing to take the pace off his second serve to ensure no gifted points.
Meanwhile, Jacob Fearnley is expected to contest the prestigious European Open in Brussels, Belgium, next week.
It is a tournament with a bit of Scottish history in that it was won in 2019 by Andy Murray when recovering from hip surgery. At that point Murray was ranked world No 243, the lowest ranked player to claim that title.
