Jacob Fearnley of Britain reaches Italian Open second round
Rome, May 9 (UNI) Britain's Jacob Fearnley is safely through to the second round of the Italian Open with a straight-set victory over home hero Fabio Fognini.
The 23-year-old defeated the veteran Italian - who announced on Tuesday this would be his last Masters 1000 event in Rome - 6-2 6-3 in the first round on Thursday.
Fearnley will now face another Italian opponent, Matteo Berrettini, on Saturday.
He said it was a "tough match" against the 37-year-old Fognini and he had to "dig deep" in both
sets.
"I knew playing such an experienced player like Fabio that I had to up my game in order to win," Fearnley told Sky Sports.
Thursday's match was briefly interrupted as spectators at Foro Italico were told Robert Prevost had been elected as the new Pope.
To the delight of the home crowd, Fognini started brightly before Fearnley won six games in a row to take the first set.
The second followed the same pattern, with Fognini on the front foot early on, only for his younger opponent to go on a run of games which eventually sealed the match.
Fognini made his debut at the clay-court event in 2006 and reached the quarter-finals of the tournament in 2018.
He had told the Tennis Channel before his opening tie with Fearnley that now was a "good time
to say goodbye in this beautiful city."
UNI BM
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Indian Express
2 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Sincaraz: Gen Z rivalry declares its intent from Roland-Garros
Borg-McEnroe. Sampras-Agassi. Federer-Nadal. A dyadic rivalry between the best two racqueteers is the most satisfying modern translation of the medieval duel: a protracted war (minus the shooting) between two supremely talented and driven personages. On Sunday, the Law of Eternal Recurrence brought us the latest edition: Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, whose rivalry is already branded as 'Sincaraz'. Many had wondered if tennis would lose its charm after the high profile departures of the likes of Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer and Serena Williams. Like with all end-of-era doomsaying, they need not have bothered. The sport's next era is upon us. While Novak Djokovic ground his way to yet another Slam semifinal, 'Sincaraz' have portended much more than the fate of a single tournament. From early 2024, the Italian and the Spaniard have split the six Majors. On Paris's iconic red dirt, they etched out the reasons in longform, in fact, in the longest French Open final in history, a duel that blazed in white heat, like a littoral sun at high noon, with the clock on pause. One could see why Alcaraz, who only turned 22 last week, has been compared to the likes of Nadal. At one point in the final, the Spaniard was down three match points. But he summoned his will and ran himself through a brick wall to beat the Italian in five sets. Alcaraz already owns five Majors. You could say History is among them.
United News of India
3 hours ago
- United News of India
Anderson stars but Northants stay unbeaten in Blast
London, June 9 (UNI) James Anderson delivered a second three-wicket haul of his T20 Blast return for Lancashire but it was not enough to stop Northants Steelbacks making it five wins from five to tighten their grip on the top of North Group. The veteran seamer's 3-31 at a blustery Old Trafford backed up his 3-17 against Durham at Chester-le-Street. But the 42-year-old's sterling efforts could not prevent the Steelbacks totalling 180-6 before restricting Lancashire to 156-9 in reply. Liam Livingstone's return to Lightning colours following his Indian Premier League (IPL) victory with Royal Challengers Bangalore saw him take 2-35 and add 18 with the bat as Northants always had the game under their control. George Scrimshaw was the pick of their bowlers with an impressive 4-19. UNI BM
Indian Express
3 hours ago
- Indian Express
Carlos Alcaraz vs Jannik Sinner: Five standout points from epic French Open final
'Today there were few moments of the match that, I mean, the level was insane,' was Carlos Alcaraz's assessment as he basked in the glow of returning from a two-set deficit for the first time and defending his title against Jannik Sinner in Sunday's French Open final. Sinner 1-0 sets lead, 6-6, 3-2* in tiebreaker (Match time: 2 hours, 6 minutes) The Italian felt no pressure of blowing the previous lead, he raised his game in the shootout. The standout point came as he was dictating the terms from the baseline when both players powered the ball to each other before he scrambled Alcaraz's feet with an angled, disguised, pinpoint forehand winner down-the-line. Sinner 2-0 sets lead, 1-2, *15-0 (Match time: 3 hours, 21 minutes) Having given up an early break, this match showed no signs of turning, certainly not by the looks of how Sinner was commanding the baseline. He pulverised a few crosscourt backhands to set up a down-the-line ripper, Alcaraz got to everything and put him in a bit of trouble with his agility before Sinner rained down a smash. 2-2 sets equal, Alcaraz leading 2-1, *40-40 (Match time: 4 hours, 34 minutes) Alcaraz returned to his strategy of mixing spins and depth to unsettle the Italian and followed it up with the finesse of drop shots, doing so with phenomenal guile. This was the third such instance in the same service game. 2-2 sets equal, Sinner leading 6-5, 40-AD* (Match time: 5 hours, 19 minutes) If there was any chance of Alcaraz losing his composure after failing to serve out the match himself, he knocked it out with this gutsy point to take into the breaker. He responded to a couple of massive Sinner inside-out forehands, defending on his backhand, before hitting a sensational running backhand crosscourt passing shot. He cupped his ears, the crowd roared, the level was, indeed, insane. 2-2 sets equal, 6-6, Alcaraz leads tiebreaker 3-0* (Match time: 5 hours, 23 minutes) The match tiebreaker is where Alcaraz definitively asserted his superiority, none more so than on this point. He returned Sinner's serve with gusto, followed it up with a delicate drop shot, and then, instead of letting the approach shot fall (it may have gone out) pulled off an inexplicable over-the-head, behind-the-shoulder forehand crosscourt volley on the run. Jaws dropped.
