Lexus Ilkley Open 2026: Jacob Fearnley, Toby Samuel and Oliver Tarvet secure quarter-final spots

Jacob Fearnley fought back from a set down in his second round match against America’s Keegan Smith – the Brit came through the close match 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.

Toby Samuel continued his form on the ATP Challenger Tour after he moved past Denmark’s August Holmgren 6-3, 6-3 on Court 4.

Finally, Oliver Tarvet put in a confident performance to defeat the defending champion Tristan Schoolkate 6-3, 6-2 to secure his spot in his second ATP Challenger quarter-final.  

Fearnley has had a mixed run of form this season, but back-toback wins in Ilkley will no doubt give him greater confidence to hopefully replicate his previous grass court success. 

The 24-year-old picked up his first trophy on the grass at the Lexus Nottingham Open in 2024 before making his first ATP 500 quarter-final appearance at the HSBC Championships last year.

“It was difficult and obviously dealing with a little bit of something in my ankle as well, but I was really happy to get through," Fearnley said after the match. "When I got injured, I actually started playing pretty loose, so it actually helped my game”

“It was very tough conditions, and if you start to complain about the wind it becomes very ugly very fast, so I was just happy with the way I dealt with the conditions.”

“Keegan was playing amazing as well, playing with a lot of confidence and was playing good with the wind as well so happy to get through.”

Fearnley responded after losing the opener by quickly racing to a 3–1 lead, holding his nerve after Smith drew level to get the crucial break and force a decider.

Despite needing a medical timeout, the Brit fought off a potential comeback from the American in the second set. Keegan recovered a break to get back to 5-4, but Fearnley kept his nerve the second time of asking and was able to serve it out in his next service game. 

It’s been quite the season for Samuel, who has already picked up two ATP Challenger titles in Greece earlier this year.

The Brit came into the tournament with a new career high ranking of 150 after he qualified for his first Grand Slam main at Roland Garros and is eyeing up success on the grass this season.

“I’m super happy to get through that one because it’s not easy conditions out there, it’s very windy and I’ve been waiting around a lot the last few days, so it was good how I dealt with the conditions.”

“It’s definitely hard, you warm up then you stop and then you’re back – it’s a lot of free time to kill, but you also try to stay locked in and focused for when you do go on.

“I’m glad I actually got out on the grass today and got a better feel for it the lead up to the bigger grass tournaments in the summer.”

Samuel made light work of the opening set, taking the lead with a double break before picking up another key break to go up 4-2 in the second.

Following an epic penultimate game where the Brit missed out on four match points, he continued to save a match point before closing out the match with his fifth match point. 

Tarvet reached his second ATP Challenger Tour quarter-final as he moved past the 2025 champion Schoolkate in the second round and marked his fourth top 200 win.

The Brit qualified for Wimbledon last year, where he defeated Leandro Riedi in round one in his first ever main draw victory on the ATP Tour before bowing out to defending champion Carlos Alcaraz. 

“It was a good match, it wasn’t easy conditions out here today, it’s very windy and it’s not easy to play good tennis," Tarvet said. "I knew I’d have to grit it out a bit more and find solutions. I did that slightly better than him today and I feel that was ultimately the reason why I ended up on top of that match.”

“My main thing is that my mental side has to be perfect regardless of the conditions, regardless of the circumstances, and I feel like I was pretty on it from the get-go. I got a good start in the first, got a good start in the second and I was able to carry that momentum. I was happy with my performance overall.”

Tarvet, played the University of San Diego in the NCAA, got the deciding break in both sets where he held on to the lead to easily wrap up the match despite the weather conditions.

“Being at home, having the LTA supporting me here is really special,” the Brit said post-match “It’s a very well run event. We’re lucky to be able to practice on it [the grass] as Brits, which gives us an advantage.”

Elsewhere, Katie Swan moved past top seed Viktorija Golubic in straight sets earlier today before taking on America’s Ashlyn Krueger in the quarter-finals this evening – the eighth seed was sitting at 6-1 when the match ended.