THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 2, 2026

Jacob Fearnley

Press Conference

J. MUNAR/J. Fearnley

6-4, 7-6, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Jacob, appreciate it's not the result you wanted it to be. Could you talk us through the match this afternoon.

JACOB FEARNLEY: Yeah, tough match. I enjoyed it, but yeah, obviously not the result I wanted. Yeah, no, happy with how I competed, but just came out second today.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. You had a few chances, especially maybe in that second set. Does that one sting a bit, potentially?

JACOB FEARNLEY: Yeah, of course. Obviously all matches you lose, you look back, especially if they're close, you look back and you realize that there was some chances that probably missed.

Yeah, you know, I thought on a lot of big points he served really well. Hit his spots. You know, I wasn't, yeah, I wasn't expecting him to honestly serve that big. I think he was consistently hitting over 135 and hitting spots. Yeah, credit to him.

But yeah, obviously disappointed that I didn't capitalize on the opportunities that I had.

Q. Obviously a frustrating afternoon for you, but with a lot of Brits going out in the first round, it really felt like there was a lot of the crowd there to watch you. What was that like feeling that atmosphere and feeling everyone behind you?

JACOB FEARNLEY: Yeah, no, it was a cool atmosphere. I mean, always enjoy playing in big crowds like that. You know, it's why I play tennis.

So no, it was really fun. But, you know, I didn't really feel that there was any more kind of, the crowd was more involved because people lost in the first round. I don't necessarily think that was the case.

Yeah, I think it was a good atmosphere to play in, for sure.

Q. Obviously the other day was your first-ever five-setter. Just curious how you kind of held up from that, how it shaped your recovery, if it affected you at all today?

JACOB FEARNLEY: No, I don't think so. I mean, I definitely did feel more tired today. I don't know if it was just -- yeah, I mean, maybe I did have a knock-on effect. I'm not too sure.

Obviously the way he plays, he does make the rallies a little bit more physical than perhaps Michelsen would have done. Yeah, I think that court was a little bit slower, as well. Obviously crowd involved, playing on a slightly bigger court, all kind of zaps your energy a little bit more.

Yeah, maybe there was a couple of factors that played into it.

Q. Where did you feel the difference was today between the two of you?

JACOB FEARNLEY: Yeah, I mean, I think, like, you know, like most of the matches that I'm losing, I don't think it's coming down to much. But I think he served better. I think that was pretty evident today, you know, from the stats or whether you were watching.

Yeah, I think it's just how you're playing the big points. I think he played them way better than me. The way he plays, he just makes a lot of balls, and he's extremely good at that.

So, yeah, I felt like I was the one who was having to press and try and dictate. Obviously I made a few big errors in big moments. But, you know, I'm okay with that to a certain extent. You know, I have to go for it.

Yeah, and obviously first game in the third set was just a complete concentration lapse, and that obviously costed me big time in that third set.

Q. When you look at the winners, you hit so many more winners today. It doesn't look like a three-straight-sets defeat, right?

JACOB FEARNLEY: Well, yeah, kind of what I was getting on just then, like, the way he plays, he's gonna have lower winners and lower unforced errors. And obviously the majority of people he plays, the opponent is going to be the one trying to get after the ball, trying to hit winners.

That's kind of how it played out. I hit way more winners, but I also hit a lot more unforced errors. That's kind of the give and take of it.

Yeah, I didn't feel that I could necessarily beat him at his game by being solid, because that's just not how I play. Yeah, I had to go for my shots, and obviously, yeah, a couple of maybe lucky, net cord, I don't know. Couple of maybe little inch higher on some forehands or on some returns, it could be a completely different story. But that's tennis.

Q. He's obviously top 50. You had the big win in the first round. Do you leave the tournament maybe with more confidence than you came into it?

JACOB FEARNLEY: No, still it was a good week. Obviously I, yeah, wanted to win a match coming into the week.

Yeah, I can definitely be positive and try and take the positives even from today. I feel like the way I played even the last few weeks has been progress.

Yeah, no, I'm obviously going to be disappointed and learn from today. Yeah, I'm going to use whatever experiences I had this week and in the last few weeks to try and hopefully kick on these next few months.

Q. You were on Court 12 today, and obviously as one of four Brits that advanced from the first round, would you have hoped to be on Court 3 or a bigger court today?

JACOB FEARNLEY: I don't think so. I didn't really think about it. But, I mean, Court 12 is still pretty big. It felt like it was packed. You know, I definitely had a good atmosphere. I don't know what the capacity of the court is, but yeah, I mean, obviously it's nice to play on other courts, but no, I think it was perfect.

Q. Do you have any connections or links in Perth, Dundee, or Stirlingshire?

JACOB FEARNLEY: Yeah, not so much. I mean, I have family in Aberdeen but that's obviously a bit more north. I trained a lot in Stirling growing up, and obviously, if I do go back to Scotland and train, it will be in Stirling. I don't really have too many links.