Even before Jacob Fearnley enters Louis Armstrong Stadium Alexander Zverev On Thursday night in New York, the Mind Games had already begun. In the second round of the U.S. Open, the third seed made Fearnley wait for more than 10 minutes before finally showing up their game, where he beat Fearnley 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the third round.
Despite struggling to compete and trying to dominate the baseline with his forehand and shut down the network, Fearnley ended his first U.S. Open debut and ended his first valuable course against one of the best players in the world. In two hours and 28 minutes of their 28 minutes in court, Zverev knocked the British down with his consistency, solid counterattack and dominant hit rate, thus making his more turbulent opponent beat so many points.
“I think it’s obviously something I’m going to do – come online and ruin his rhythm – because I think he’s very, very solid and he’s not going to give me too much,” Fearnley said. “And then I was obviously fluctuating, it was hard to keep that level throughout the game. I gave myself a chance, but I just didn’t have capitalization. Obviously he’s a great player, so can’t be too disappointed, I think.”
The game also has a glimpse of game tricks, sometimes top players sometimes implementing against low-ranking opponents. Before every game at the U.S. Open, players must gather outside the corridor inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, which leads to every court. When their names were called on the speakers, Fearnley immediately appeared at 6.50 pm. He will spend 10 minutes quietly waiting for his opponent. Zverev was ordered to play three times before he finally arrived.
When asked if he was annoyed by his opponent’s slack body, Fearnley hesitated for a moment and then carefully chose his words. He noted that top players often move at their own speed, which he learned for the first time last year before playing against Wimbledon’s Novak Djokovic.
“I’m kind of expecting,” Fearnley said. “I mean, it’s the same [against Zverev] In Australia, he is always like “I’m sorry for it” but he knows what he’s doing. The same goes for Wimbledon’s Novak. They took some time and it was, I don’t know if this is within the rules.
“I really don’t know what the rules are, I just don’t know… If they call me, I’ll show up because I don’t necessarily know what will happen. But, no, he’s in his right to master the time. I’m kind of expecting.
Fearnley still has only 14 months of his career as a professional player, and the 24-year-old is still gaining experience every week. In addition to his huge potential, he has some shortcomings to solve. He hit 18 doubles against Zverev in his first round of four games, with many key points.
“I could actually sit there all day, for 100 seconds,” he said. “It’s not a problem. But seeing the lights, seeing the courts, it’s a little tricky. And it’s also having Alex Zverev having some tricky problems on the other end of the network, and there’s some noise that that crowd is hard at times.
“I’ll keep working hard, but eventually I’ll figure it out. I know there are a lot of players in the past that have had similar things, but they seem to have worked hard and I’m sure I’ll do the same.”
Health & Wellness Contributor
A wellness enthusiast and certified nutrition advisor, Meera covers everything from healthy living tips to medical breakthroughs. Her articles aim to inform and inspire readers to live better every day.
