Fearnley falls short against second seed Zverev

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.

"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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

He was unable to take two break points in the second game and looked to have paid the price when Zverev broke for a 4-2 lead.

Staying unfazed is one of the Scot's biggest strengths and he responded with an aggressive returning game to hit straight back.

However, he was broken again immediately and Zverev confidently served out to take a two-set lead.

Those lapses of concentration on the odd service game also proved costly in the third set.

While he took Zverev's serve for a second time to level at 2-2, Fearnley could not sustain his level or focus and was broken in the next game for a lead which Zverev would not relinquish.