British No.2 Jacob Fearnley advanced to the round of 16 in the Barcelona Open by defeating Spain's Roberto Carballes Baena in straight sets. Fearnley secured the win 6-1 7-5 in his first main draw match on clay at an ATP 500 tournament after being selected as a 'lucky loser' due to Jordan Thompson's withdrawal. The 23-year-old Scot will face either Tomas Martin Etcheverry or Alex De Minaur in the next round.
Currently ranked 74th in the men's ATP singles rankings, Fearnley aims to make his French Open debut next month following a successful year. After turning professional post-graduation from TCU in May, Fearnley achieved the fifth largest ranking jump into the top 100 since 2000, according to ATP statistics. Noteworthy performances include facing Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon and reaching the third round of the Australian Open in January, where he was defeated by Alexander Zverev.