Wimbledon: British wild card Jacob Fearnley 'intimidated' at facing Novak Djokovic in the second round

British underdog Jacob Fearnley says he's feeling a bit nervous about facing off against tennis legend Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon.

Fearnley completed his time at Texas Christian University (TCU) last May after five years on the team. He was not ranked among the top 500 players until he recently won an ATP Challenger tournament in Nottingham as a qualifier.

The 22-year-old from Scotland received a special invitation to compete in this year's Championships. Despite being drawn to a screen showing Djokovic's score outside Centre Court, he made his first appearance at the All England Club with an impressive 7-5 6-4 7-6 (14-12) win over Alejandro Moro Canas on a cheerful Court Eight.

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I have to admit that I was keeping an eye on the scores at Centre Court. It was starting to worry me that I would have to compete against him," Fearnley confessed.

Yes, I may feel a bit nervous, but I'm extremely thrilled for this upcoming match. It's the most important match of my career thus far. Playing against a player of such caliber will be a truly memorable experience.

I have seen numerous videos of him and it seems like he doesn't have many weaknesses in his game. I will just focus on enjoying myself, playing my best on the court, and seeing how it goes. I don't think I need to strategize much for the match.

Fearnley, who is currently ranked 277th in the world, came to Wimbledon after winning the ATP Challenger tournament in Nottingham. However, he experienced a close loss to fellow countryman Billy Harris at Eastbourne before arriving at the prestigious event.

He made opportunities when serving against Moro Canas, who made it through qualifying but didn't have much experience on grass.

Finally, Fearnley managed to win after multiple consecutive points in the 11th game, and then finished off the 75-minute first set with an ace.

More opportunities to score points were created at the beginning of the second set, but Moro Canas managed to hold on before the rain caused the match to be halted.

Following a one-hour wait, Moro Canas made a mistake on their serve, giving Fearnley the advantage in the fifth game of the second set.

Shortly after Fearnley secured a two-set advantage, Djokovic defeated Vit Kopriva with the cheers of the spectators echoing on his court near Wimbledon's main stadium.

In the third set, the players held their serves and had to play a tie-breaker. British player Fearnley, ranked 13th, kept his fans on the edge of their seats during this intense moment.

He wasted five opportunities to win the match before hitting a powerful forehand winner at the back of the court, securing his first Grand Slam victory and setting up a match against Djokovic.

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Fearnley admitted, "It's definitely a bit wild. It caught me off guard for sure. It was very unexpected."

My month was fantastic. I won the national championships in America with TCU. I only had a week, possibly even less, to get ready for Nottingham. I had to go through qualifiers. I almost got eliminated in the first round of qualifying. Fortunately, I was able to come back and win some matches for the rest of the week.

I had a challenging game against Billy at Eastbourne. It actually turned out to be a positive thing since it left me feeling energized for Wimbledon, which is the biggest tournament. Overall, it's been a fantastic month.

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Fearnley's ongoing involvement is representing Britain and Scotland well in the singles tournament, especially after Andy Murray had to pull out.

Since Fearnley, who hails from Edinburgh, has been living in America for some time now, communication between the two of them has been limited. However, he vividly remembers being completely captivated by the TV when Murray defeated Djokovic in 2013 to win his first Wimbledon title.

"He is the ideal example that a British tennis player, specifically someone from Scotland like me, can look up to," Fearnley commented.

I learn a great deal from his playing style and try to incorporate it into my own game. If I achieve even a fraction of the success he has had on the tour, I will be extremely pleased.

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