Jacob Fearnley is out of the Cincinnati Open in the very first round, in yet another disappointing outing for the Brit.
It really feels like, after picking up plenty of momentum before Wimbledon, the 24-year-old has fallen flat after his first-round exit from the All-England Club.
He lost early in Toronto and has mimicked that failure in Cincinnati, making his US Open preparation as poor as could be.
And, pundit Annabel Croft has identified a really worrying trend from Jacob Fearnley that, in her eyes, is sending him into every match with a ‘handicap.’
Annabel Croft makes worrying claim about Jacob Fearnley
Speaking live on Sky Sports, just after the Scotsman had been swept aside by Zizou Bergs, she started by admitting: “He [Zizou Bergs] was really impressive to be honest, wasn’t he? Even though I’m sure Jacob Fearnley will feel like he didn’t find his best tennis, looked like he was carrying a stomach injury, not quite sure what was going on there, but definitely low on confidence.
“Bergs, served well, actually. Yes, there were a few double faults, but he served well, the accuracy was there, got a lot of free points, got the momentum going. The explosive capability on that forehand was impressive. We saw him [from] game one coming forward, volleying away, there was a lot to admire from what he put out on this court, so a much-needed win and well deserved.”
However, her attention then turned to Fearnley and what went wrong for him. She continued: “Unforced error count, there wasn’t actually too much difference in that department, which is quite surprising, considering how he efficiently got himself through the games. But 18 winners, double the amount of winners to Jacob Fearnley.
“Serving department, really high first serve percentage when he got it in, both of them struggled a little bit behind their second serves, particularly Fearnley, struggling with the double faults as well, that did not help.
“You’re almost going in with a handicap when you’re serving so many double faults in a match.”
Fearnley was left frustrated after his exit at Queen’s, and it seems those same issues remain even months later.
Jacob Fearnley has lost his momentum in 2025
As touched upon earlier, Fearnley’s promising start to 2025 is threatening to devolve into a nightmare given how he has started this hard-court season.
It’s particularly frustrating given how well he performed in Melbourne and Miami, just two venues of the same surface.
There, he was playing his rock-solid brand of tennis, mixing in his consistency with the odd injection of aggression to beat the likes of Nick Kyrgios and Arthur Cazaux.
Then, heading into the clay swing, he impressed again, with Barcelona and Madrid marking solid showings as well.
It would be such a shame to see all his hard work come undone now, especially when just two places short of his career-best ranking.
The US Open now marks a huge opportunity for him to end the year on a high, having never played in the main draw of the event before.
