Jacob Fearnley, the British No.13 ranked world No.277, faces the tennis match of his life against Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon 2024 today.
There is an Andy Murray-shaped hole in this year’s men’s singles after his back injury forced him out at the last minute – but there’s plenty other British drama.
Jack Draper and Katie Boulter – the British No.1s in men’s singles and women’s singles – face British No.2s Cameron Norrie and Harriet Dart in the second round.
Meanwhile, Murray is playing doubles with his brother Jamie and mixed doubles with fellow British star Emma Raducanu as he edges towards retirement.
But the British storylines don’t stop there after Fearnley set up a mouth-watering second-round showdown against seven-time Wimbledon champion Djokovic. Here’s everything you need to know about him ahead of Thursday’s battle.
Who is Jacob Fearnley?
Jacob Fearnley is a 22-year-old British tennis player from Edinburgh, Scotland. He is No.13 in the British rankings and No.277 in the ATP world rankings.
The Scottish star recently clinched his first singles title on the ATP Challenger Tour – one level below the ATP Tour – at the 2024 Nottingham Open as a qualifier.
Fearnley made his ATP Tour debut in Eastbourne as a wildcard before then being handed a wildcard for Wimbledon 2024 to make his Grand Slam debut.
He impressively beat Spain’s world No.188 Alejandro Moro Canas to book a spot in the second round – a result which pocketed him £60,000 in prize money.
Novak Djokovic vows to do his ‘homework’
Novak Djokovic has no clue who Jacob Fearnley is – and vowed to do his ‘homework’ on the British player ahead of Thursday’s meeting on Centre Court.
‘No, no, I haven’t seen him hit,’ the 24-time Grand Slam champion said. ‘I don’t know really anything about him.
‘So I’ll have to do my homework. I know he was granted a wildcard to play in the tournament. So yeah, I’ll definitely analyse his match and see what I’m up against.
‘Obviously him being British, he’s going to have the crowd. You never like to play the British at Wimbledon.
‘But, you know, I’m looking forward to it. For me, it’s just about really maintaining this good sensation, good feelings on the court, getting my body and knee in shape to sustain the high level of potential five sets. That’s what matters most.’
Jacob Fearnley ‘super excited’ for showdown
Jacob Fearnley is incredibly excited for his match against one of the greatest tennis players of all time – although it’s fair to say he is also a little nervous.
‘Yeah, I mean, it’s a great kind of, like you said, prize,’ Fearnley said. ‘I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t watching the scores on Centre Court. It was getting in my head a little bit that I was going to have to play him.
‘Yeah, it’s going to be a little bit intimidating, but it’s a match that I’m super excited for. It’s the biggest match of my career so far. Just to be able to share the court with a player like that will be really special.’
Quizzed on how he plans to pull off a huge upset against Djokovic, he added: ‘I don’t think many people have the answer to that. I have no idea.
‘I’ve watched so many videos of him. It doesn’t look like there’s many flaws in his game. I’m going to just try and enjoy it, put my game out on the court and see what happens. I don’t think there’s many tactics going into the match.’
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