Jacob Fearnley dumped out of Wimbledon by Brazilian sensation Joao Fonseca

Jacob Fearnley’s Wimbledon journey was emphatically halted on day one as teenage sensation Joao Fonseca delivered a devastating display following his pre-tournament warm-up with Carlos Alcaraz.

British number two Fearnley was bidding to reach the second round at SW19 for a second successive year after suffering a four-set loss to Novak Djokovic 12 months ago.

But 18-year-old Brazilian Fonseca, who spent Saturday honing his grass-court skills in a high-intensity session with reigning champion Alcaraz, underlined his status as one of the tour’s hottest prospects with a blistering 6-4 6-1 7-6 (5) victory in sweltering south-west London.

Fearnley, ranked 51st in the world, showed signs of nerves from the outset on Court One, producing the first two of nine double faults at the start of an unconvincing opening service game.

The 23-year-old Scot saved four break points in game four of a high-octane contest but then failed to capitalise on three of his own before Fonseca benefited from another double fault to seal the first set.

That error came amid Fearnley losing 15 points on the bounce which ultimately led to him surrendering a one-sided second set in just 23 minutes.

Impressive championship debutant Fonseca was made to work far harder in set three before claiming what is likely to be the first of many victories at the All England Club.

The 2024 NextGen champion saved a set point before coming from 5-2 down in the subsequent tie-break – in part thanks to successive aces – to celebrate the latest milestone win of a fine breakthrough season.

“It’s super special for me – my favourite grand slam since my childhood,” the world number 54 said in his on-court interview following victory in two hours and a minute.

“It’s just a pleasure being here. I’m sorry winning against a British guy but thanks a lot for the support here, thanks for respecting the tennis today. Jacob’s a great friend, a great player.

“I’ve been working a lot and believing that I can play good tennis. The key is work, believe and dream.”