Jacob Fearnley called out Alexander Zverev’s tardiness after another defeat by the German at the US Open.
Fearnley took on the third seed for the third time this season having lost to him in Australia and Miami, and it was the same story as Zverev withstood a late salvo to claim a 6-4 6-4 6-4 victory.
British number three Fearnley revealed afterwards that Zverev had kept him waiting for more than 10 minutes before the players walked to Louis Armstrong Stadium, saying: “I kind of expected it.
“It was the same in Australia and he’s always like, ‘Oh, I’m sorry about that’. But he knows what he’s doing. It was the same with Novak (Djokovic) at Wimbledon.
“They take their time. I don’t know if it’s within the rules or not. I don’t really know what the rule is. If they call me, I show up. It is a little bit of time because you do a 20-minute warm-up and then you’re standing there.”
Fearnley also admitted he was unsettled by the constant noise around the court, which is the second biggest at Flushing Meadows.
“It’s quite a difficult environment in there,” said the 24-year-old. “It caught me very off guard at how loud it was.
“I was kind of eavesdropping in the locker room and Ben Shelton and those guys were saying they want to stay on (Arthur) Ashe because of the noise, but I didn’t really understand what that meant, and then I understood pretty quick.”
While the crowd were not always fully engaged throughout the contest, that was not the case during the final few games, when Fearnley saved five match points and battled his way back from 5-1 down.
He pulled off some spectacular shots, including a leaping backhand down the line winner that drew applause from Zverev.
After converting his sixth chance, the German greeted his opponent at the net by saying: “Where did that come from man? Well played.”
“The shots that I was hitting, it was definitely getting the crowd going, which was a really cool experience,” said Fearnley.
“I’m not really one for getting the crowd too involved, but that was fun. I’ll definitely remember those few games.”
Two concerns for Fearnley were a “pop” he felt in his shoulder during the first set for which he took painkillers, and more serving problems, with the Scot hitting 12 double faults to go with the 18 he sent down in the first round.
He believes the pressure of the occasion is behind his troubles rather than a technical flaw, and said: “It’s definitely something that I’ve got to fix because I’m just giving points away.”
Fearnley is hopeful the shoulder is not a serious issue, but it will still be a concern for Davis Cup captain Leon Smith, who already seems certain to be without his number one player Jack Draper for next month’s play-off against Poland.
