Fearnley shrugs off painful fall in impressive Cobolli win

BBC News

24-06-2025

British number two Jacob Fearnley brushed off a painful late fall as "just a little tweak" as he impressively dominated Italian fifth seed Flavio Cobolli at Eastbourne.Fearnley cruised through the first round of the men's singles with a 6-2 6-2 win in one hour and five minutes.However, when leading 5-1 in the second set, Fearnley had a nasty slip while hitting a baseline backhand which drew concerns from the crowd, umpire and Cobolli.Fearnley was able to see out the win and he said, while he had been hurt, he was hopeful it was nothing serious."Not too sure, it was just adrenaline getting me over the line," the 23-year-old Scot said after the match. "I feel a bit of pain, but I'm sure it's nothing - just a little tweak."
It was another impressive result on grass for the world number 51, following his run to the quarter-finals at Queen's last week.Fearnley broke world number 24 Cobolli four times and produced 21 winners to seven from the Italian.Cobolli cut a visibly disconsolate figure, complaining to the unsympathetic Eastbourne crowd while producing an off-colour display featuring 29 unforced errors.Fearnley faces American Marcos Giron in the last 16.
Harris shocks Norrie in all-British encounter
Earlier, 2024 Eastbourne semi-finalist Billy Harris got his campaign this year off to a strong start with a shock win over fellow British player Cameron Norrie.Harris, who only qualified for this year's competition as a lucky loser, beat former Wimbledon semi-finalist Norrie 6-4 6-4 in Tuesday's third match on centre court.For world number 142 Harris, it was only his second win over a player in the top 100 as he impressively saw off 61st-ranked Norrie."I knew it would be a tough match today," Englishman Harris said. "I had to play a good match, and managed to stay solid in the wind."I had some great memories from last year here, hopefully I can turn this into a good week."In the first competitive singles match between the compatriots, Harris raced into a 4-1 lead with a double break, taking both break points on offer in set one.A grinding opener with only five winners in total was in part decided by 13 unforced errors from Norrie, who received a wildcard for Eastbourne but was below par here, despite managing to beak Harris' serve in the eighth game. He also failed to hit an ace in the one hour and 24 minute encounter.Harris then broke in seventh game of the second set, and saw off four Norrie break points in the final game as he served for the match.Harris will play Italian qualifier Mattia Bellucci in the second round.
Tomic earns first ATP win in four years
Elsewhere, former Wimbledon quarter-finalist Bernard Tomic claimed his first win in an ATP event since 2021.The 32-year-old Australian, once ranked 17th in the world but now languishing down at 248, came from behind to beat compatriot Rinky Hijikata at the Mallorca Open 3-6 7-5 6-2.Tomic's attitude has earned him plenty of criticism during his career as he has often bragged about his lifestyle and earnings.However, he is now aiming for a return to the world's top 100, and will face Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut next.