Fearnley falls short against second seed Zverev

Jacob Fearnley was ranked 646th in the world in January 2024

Britain's Jacob Fearnley saw his encouraging Australian Open run come to an end against German second seed Alexander Zverev in the third round.

The 23-year-old Briton, playing in his first overseas Grand Slam tournament, lost 6-3 6-4 6-4 in Melbourne.

Fearnley, ranked 92nd, earned direct entry into the first major of season on the back of a meteoric rise in 2024.

After beating an injured Nick Kyrgios in a rowdy first-round atmosphere, he set up the clash against Zverev with another impressive win over France's Arthur Cazaux.

While the Scot held his own for most of the contest, Zverev's greater consistency was enough to see him through to the fourth round.

"I don't have any regrets with how I played the match," said Fearnley.

"It's been an awesome experience. Obviously an extremely good week for me. An unbelievable tournament."

Fearnley's defeat leaves his childhood rival Jack Draper as the only Briton left in the men's singles draw.

Draper, seeded 15th, plays Australia's Aleksandar Vukic at about 21:00 local time (10:00 GMT) on Friday.

Testing Zverev demonstrates Fearnley's 'cool' progression

Twelve months ago, Fearnley was still a university student in the United States and playing tournaments on the third-tier ITF Tour.

While all eyes were on the stars at Melbourne Park, he was celebrating winning an M25 title in Luxembourg.

"It's really cool to see the progression and to be where I am now," said Fearnley.

Now, having climbed into the world's top 100 in one of fastest rises on the ATP Tour, Fearnley is on an equal footing with the very best.

Causing a seismic shock would have seen Fearnley become only the seventh man to reach the Melbourne last 16 on his debut.

"I thought I played some good tennis. I don't think there was too much in it, just a few points here and there," said Fearnley.

"That's what those top guys do so well. They keep composed and their base level just stays the same throughout the whole match.

"Mine went quite up and down, which I think is what cost me the match."

Fearnley falls short in decisive moments

Two-time Grand Slam finalist Zverev is one of the biggest servers in the game and it was little surprise that Fearnley, despite being a sharp returner, could not initially get into his opponent's service games.

There was little difference between the pair in a tight first set and Fearnley losing his serve to love in the sixth game was decisive.

A worrying sign was Fearnley gingerly moving between points towards the end of the set with what looked to be a lower back issue.

After Zverev secured the lead, Fearnley disappeared off court for a medical time-out and he returned looking more at ease.

Zverev, who reached the Melbourne semi-finals in 2021 and 2024, had not dropped serve in his opening wins over France's Lucas Pouille and Spain's Pedro Martinez.

Fearnley superbly took his serve once in each set - both as Zverev looked to consolidate breaking the Scot - but lapses of concentration saw him immediately lose serve again.

Zverev, 27, closed each set confidently to set up a last-16 meeting with one of two Frenchman, either 14th seed Ugo Humbert or 20th seed Arthur Fils.

"Jacob is an incredible player, he went through all the stages - going to university, playing Futures, Challengers - and now he is playing on the big stage," said Zverev.

"I have massive respect for him. He will get better over the next few years."