Jacob Fearnley ready to face Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon

By James Toney at Wimbledon

Jacob Fearnley is hoping to make a remarkable journey from Roger Federer’s hitting partner to Novak Djokovic’s conqueror.

But the 22-year-old Scot admits he is pinching himself after an improbable few weeks which have left his head spinning and his rivals scratching their heads.

He first claimed his biggest tournament victory at the LTA Rothesay Open in Nottingham, then beat Spaniard Alejandro Moro Canas in his first ever Grand Slam match, converting his sixth match point chance for a straight sets victory 7-5 6-4 7-6.

He will now face seven-time champion Djokovic – likely on Centre Court – for a place in the third round.

Not bad for a player ranked 525th in the world at the start of last month, whose chances of playing at the All England Club this year seemed unlikely a month ago.

“I feel good and just playing on these courts was a great feeling and to get a win was really special,” Fearnley said.

“It’s a great reward to play against Novak, I would be lying if I said I didn’t look at the score of his match on Centre Court and maybe that stuck in my mind a little bit.

“It will be intimidating, but sharing the pitch with a player like that would be really special.

It’s a bit of a crazy feeling at the moment, it’s totally unexpected, but I’ve had a fantastic month, I’ve won the national university title, then Nottingham and now this. It’s been a fantastic month.”

A talented youngster, Fearnley was seen as a fast-track player, beating Grand Slam champions Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner as a junior, while his previous experience at the All England Club involved hitting balls with Federer as a teenager.

His decision to focus on a college career in the United States saw him fall off the radar, until he made his way through qualifying and the main draw to win the Rothesay Open, earning his first-round wildcard spot.

Djokovic is renowned for being meticulous in his preparation and will now scour YouTube for videos of the Scot’s time at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, where he helped his team win the prestigious NCAA title.

“I’ve never seen him hit, I don’t really know anything about him, so I have a few days to do my homework,” he said.

“I’m going to watch his first round match carefully and see what I can learn from it and what I’m going to have to face. He’ll have the crowd behind him and nothing to lose. You don’t like playing a British player at Wimbledon.”

Knowledge of Novak is not a problem for Fearnley, so many of his matches at the All England Club are etched in the memory

“Not many people have the answer to beat Novak, I’ve watched so many videos of him and there aren’t many flaws in his game, I’m just going to try to take advantage of it,” he added.

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