Coaching is on Murray’s radar following his retirement

Coaching is on Murray’s radar following his retirement, so could Fearnley, who has his countryman’s former coach Mark Hilton among his team, be the perfect project? “Right now I’m very happy with the coaching I have,” he said. “But, if he wants to give me advice and help me in any way, I would definitely not say no.”

Fearnley has played four more events on the notoriously difficult second-tier Challenger Tour and won three of them to propel himself into double digits. He has achieved his new ranking from only 13 tournaments, substantially the fewest in the top 100, giving him plenty of scope to move higher. His next challenge is to see if he can replicate his success on the ATP Tour. He will play qualifying at the Nordic Open in Stockholm later this month, with his immediate target to secure a main draw spot at the Australian Open in January, which he is well on course for.

“It’s obviously not what I expected,” said Fearnley. “It came definitely faster than I expected but I put in a lot of hard work so I think it’s not too surprising that I was able to reach this level. It’s a great feeling and I’m really happy with the way things have gone.

“I’m aware this maybe isn’t the norm so I’m definitely trying to stay in the moment and not let too many thoughts and too much of what is happening outside of the court get to me. It’s very difficult to do.

“It is also finding time to enjoy what I’ve been able to do and be aware it’s an amazing achievement and something I’m not going to take for granted and enjoy it while it lasts. Hopefully on to bigger and better things.”