Lexus Eastbourne Open 2025: Billy Harris & Jacob Fearnley into second round with straight sets wins
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Billy Harris and Jacob Fearnley joined fellow Brit Dan Evans in the second round of the Lexus Eastbourne open – coming through their opening matches in straight sets.
In a battle between the British No.3 and No.4, Harris defeated Cam Norrie 6-4, 6-4 to book a place in the second round.
Then in the last match of the day, Jacob Fearnley eased to a 6-2, 6-2 win over fifth seed Flavio Cobolli – his first top 50 victory on grass.
Harris – who made his first and only ATP semi-final in Eastbourne last year – moves on to face qualifier Mattia Bellucci in the second round after knocking out his Lexus GB Davis Cup teammate.
“I knew it was going to be a tough match today,” Harris said after the match. “I’ve lost to a couple of Brits recently obviously lost in qualifying. I came out and knew I had to play a good match against Cam and managed to stay solid today to get the win."
“Not every week you get that (a lucky loser spot), so you need to make the most of it. I’m happy to still be in the tournament and onto the next round.
“(I have) some great memories from last year here and hopefully I can continue now and turn it into a good week.”
Harris entered the main draw as a lucky loser from qualifying and made the most of his opportunity with an impressive performance against the former world No.8.
With the experience of playing matches in the windy conditions over the last few days, Harris secured an early double break to race out to a 5-1 lead in the opening set.
Norrie closed the gap in the second set, but Harris kept his composure in the biggest moments. He saved all six break points faced and took his only one to clinch his best result of the summer so far.
2024 Nottingham champion Fearnley got up and running quickly in Eastbourne, racing through his first round match in just 64 minutes
The 23-year-old is coming off the back of his first ATP quarter-final at the HSBC Championships last week.
“It was good fun, first of all thank you for everyone who stuck around – it was a long wait. It was a great match, waited for a long time but it was great to get on centre.
“I had a great week last week, got a lot of confidence from that. Definitely enjoying my time here in Eastbourne. These were tricky conditions but I was happy with the way I played and hopefully can keep some momentum going into the next matches here and then on to Wimbledon.”
Up against the world No.24 – who made the quarter-finals in Halle last week – Fearnley looked a level above Cobolli in the cool evening conditions in Eastbourne.
He broke the Italian five times across two sets – dealing 21 winners throughout the match and causing huge damage off the forehand.
The British star had a fall in the penultimate game but managed to get back up and eventually serve out the set.
Elsewhere, Ilkley runner-up Jack Pinnington Jones lost to eighth seed Nuno Borges 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 and American Reilly Opelka defeated George Loffhagen 7-6(6), 3-6, 7-6(1).
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