Jacob Fearnley’s star continues to rise after a faultless display on his Davis Cup debut. The 23-year-old kept Great Britain’s hopes of coming through the first-round qualifiers alive by beating Japan’s Kei Nishikori in straight sets on away soil.

This is yet another significant moment in Fearnley’s rapid progression through the ranks to a career-high world ranking of No77. Only eight months ago he graduated from the American college circuit with a lowly position of No525 after playing a part-time professional schedule during his studies.

Fearnley has repeatedly impressed ever since with the way he has looked at home on some of the biggest stages in tennis. On Centre Court last summer he took a set off Novak Djokovic in the second round of Wimbledon,