Barely anybody exterior of British tennis circles had heard of Fearnley this time final 12 months.
Whereas eyes have been on the head of sport at Melbourne Park, he was taking part in occasions on the third-tier ITF Tour and nonetheless ending his kinesiology diploma in the USA.
Final April he left Texas Christian College after which got here the beautiful rise which has been one of many quickest in ATP historical past.
Successful 5 ATP Challenger occasions in 2024 propelled him into the highest 100 and enabled him to qualify straight for this 12 months’s Australian Open fundamental draw.
Like each different check he has confronted over current months, he has not been fazed by the expertise.
After beating 2022 Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios in entrance of a partisan house crowd on Monday, Fearnley may need been forgiven for considering it will be a quieter night on the surface courts.
However, with a vocal French assist backing Cazaux and in addition galvanising the British followers, his school tennis expertise helped him as soon as once more.
Fearnley trailed 2-0 earlier than a rain delay and shortly went one other break down after they returned to court docket an hour later in cool and windy circumstances.
He misplaced serve once more early within the second set, however instantly clawed the break again and swung the momentum in his favour.
His fluid and quick groundstrokes have been an excessive amount of for Cazaux to deal with, enabling him to confidently win the ultimate two units earlier than wanting surprised when he clinched victory.
“I used to be extraordinarily nervous on the finish as a result of I began hitting some double faults. I actually did not wish to serve out the match,” Fearnley stated.
“After I did it was a bit of bit emotional.”