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British wild card Jacob Fearnley continued his dream summer with a straight-sets victory over Alejandro Moro Canas to set up a second-round tie with Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon.
Fearnley only finished his five-year stint at Texas Christian University in May and was ranked outside the top 500 until he won an ATP Challenger event in Nottingham as a qualifier last month.
It helped earn the 22-year-old from Scotland a wild card for this year’s Championships and he marked his debut with a 7-5 6-4 7-6 (12) victory on a buoyant Court Eight.
World number 277 Fearnley arrived at SW19 after a narrow defeat to compatriot Billy Harris at Eastbourne, but signalled his intention with a fine wristy forehand winner in a lengthy first game.
While opponent Moro Canas came through qualifying, the Spaniard had limited experience on grass and Fearnley continued to create opportunities on his serve.
Eventually Fearnley was able to break after consecutive winners in the 11th game before an ace closed out a 75-minute first set.
Further break point chances were fashioned at the start of the second, but Moro Canas held before rain forced play to be suspended.
After an hour’s delay, a double-fault by Moro Canas gifted Fearnley a precious break in the fifth game of the second set before he had to win four points in a row to hold and move 5-3 up.
Not long after Fearnley moved into a two-set lead, Djokovic beat Vit Kopriva on Centre Court with the roar of the crowd audible on his court in the shadows of Wimbledon’s main arena.
The third set stayed on serve and a tie-breaker was required, during which British number 13 Fearnley put his fans through the wringer.
He squandered five match points before a crisp forehand winner at the back of the court earned him a maiden grand-slam win and booked a clash with Djokovic on Thursday.
