Australian Open 2025 results: Jack Draper defeats Thanasi Kokkinakis in five sets, Jacob Fearnley beats Arthur Cazaux

Hardly anyone outside British tennis circles had heard of Fearnley this time last year.

While his eyes were on the pinnacle of the sport at Melbourne Park, he played events on the ITF Tour at the third level and was still completing his kinesiology degree at university in the United States.

Fearnley honed his skills in the “brutal” American college tennis system, which allowed him to come out of his shell and create the steely character that has served him well in his early days as a professional.

Last April he left Texas Christian University, and then came the amazing rise, which has been one of the fastest in the history of the ATP.

Winning five ATP Challenger events in 2024 moved him into the top 100 and enabled him to qualify directly for this year’s Australian Open main draw.

Like every other test he’s faced in recent months, he hasn’t been fazed by the experience.

After beating 2022 Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios in front of a partisan home crowd on Monday, Fearnley might have been forgiven for thinking it would be a quieter evening on the outer courts.

But with a vocal French support backing Cazaux and also encouraging the British fans, his college tennis experience helped him again.

Fearnley trailed 2-0 before a rain delay and quickly went down again when they returned to the pitch an hour later in cool and windy conditions.

He dropped serve again early in the second set, but immediately broke back and swung the momentum in his favor.

His fluid and quick groundstrokes were too much for Cazaux to handle, allowing him to win the final two sets before looking stunned as he clinched the victory.