Jacob Fearnley inspired by Cameron Norrie exploits
Norrie and Fearnley both attended the Texas Christian University in America before transitioning to life on the ATP Tour.
Now the British duo are set to meet for the first time for a place in the fourth round at Roland Garros.
'It's an interesting one. I know Cam very well. We both went to TCU in America although we didn't cross paths there,' said 23-year-old Fearnley.
'I think to see a guy going to the college that I went to, seeing how well he did coming out of college, it was just inspiring.
'It kind of showed me that it was possible, that the coaches at TCU and the work that he put in at TCU could get him to the Tour.
'When he won the title at Indian Wells it's just very inspiring really. I think he's done amazing things on the Tour.
'He competes so hard, fights every match, fights every point. You can see that he really leaves it all out there. So that's something that I admire.'
Former British number one Norrie has endured a tough 18 months, his ranking having dropped to a lowly 81.
The 29-year-old has been in the third round on three previous occasions but his run this year has still come as something of a surprise.
'I'm happy to be through and enjoying my tennis again,' he said. 'I feel like I have a really good game for the clay in general.
'I think it's down to if I'm moving well and giving nothing away. I can be really difficult to beat.'
Fearnley is set to break into the world's top 50 despite having never played a professional match on clay before this year.
'He has had unreal results,' added Norrie. 'This is his first clay season and he has played unreal. It is going to be tough playing him.'
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South Wales Argus
30 minutes ago
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Glasgow Times
30 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
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Norrie secured a likely showdown with Novak Djokovic after a straight-sets win in a surreal match played out to an ear-splitting backdrop of explosions and pyrotechnics. The din was down to thousands of Paris St Germain fans gathering for the Champions League final outside the Parc des Princes, which is a stone's throw from Court Simonne-Mathieu and was showing the game on a big screen. Norrie has booked his ticket to the fourth round! 🎟️#RolandGarros — Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 31, 2025 But Fearnley struggled to produce any fireworks as the more experienced Norrie extended his stay in the French capital into the second week. It will be Norrie's first appearance at this stage and, with Jack Draper already through, Britain has two men in the fourth round for the first time in French Open history. Tennis players usually like to play in silence but this end of Paris sounded more like a war zone. Serving was proving difficult for both men with explosions going off almost every time one of them tossed the ball. At one point during a crucial second-set tie-break, Norrie had to abort his service motion completely amid a series of loud bangs. Jacob Fearnley was beaten in straight sets (Lindsey Wasson/AP) Fearnley may have overtaken Norrie in the world rankings, but the 23-year-old made a nervous start amid the deafening noise. Norrie was a set and two breaks up before Fearnley, who has only just completed a first full year on the Tour, found his feet and levelled the second set. But despite the disruption, 29-year-old Norrie held his nerve in the tie-break to move two sets up. The noise finally subsided, and the crowd shrunk considerably, as kick-off approached leaving Norrie to complete a 6-3 7-6 (1) 6-2 victory in two hours and 43 minutes. Another historic day on the Parisian clay 🙌 For the first time since 1963, two British men are in the last 16 of @rolandgarros#BackTheBrits 🇬🇧 | #RolandGarros — LTA (@the_LTA) May 31, 2025 'I am happy I played a solid match. It was a great atmosphere,' said Norrie. 'I went through about seven shirts in three sets. I was sweating a lot and had to work really hard for that, so it feels good to get through. 'I think the toughest part was managing the fireworks. That was difficult for both of us.'
