Fearnley, Maria win singles titles at Cerity Partners Hall of Fame Open

NEWPORT – Jacob Fearnley and Tatjana Maria took drastically different paths to lifting their own versions of the Van Alen Cup.

This year’s singles winners at the Cerity Partners Hall of Fame Open were separated by more than an hour on court during a postcard Sunday just steps off Bellevue Avenue.

Fearnley saved six match points before nearly running into trouble of his own closing it out deep in the third set against Adam Walton. Maria was content to leave the drama to other matches on the grass while methodically taking care of Katie Volynets in straight sets.

Fearnley left with a 5-7, 7-6 (8), 6-4 triumph to pick up his fifth ATP Challenger title and first since 2024. Maria made it two straight seasons with a win on this surface by slowing Volynets, 6-2, 6-4, and atoned for a three-set defeat in last year’s inaugural WTA 125 event here.

“After Wimbledon I was debating coming or not because it was quite a quick turnaround,” Fearnley said. “I’m so happy I did.”

“I was not really thinking about last year,” Maria said. “I tried to concentrate, to play point by point. I was really happy that I was able to stay aggressive.”

Fearnley and the fourth-seeded Walton were the third match on the stadium court and stayed out in the sun for considerably longer than expected. Walton used a late break to take the opening set and raced to a 5-1 lead in the second before the bottom fell out. He was broken twice while attempting to serve it out and eventually missed another chance with a 7-6 lead in the tiebreaker.

“You just relax – you think you’re almost going home,” Fearnley said. “You’re thinking, ‘You’ve had a good week.’ And then things connect.”

Fearnley and Walton traded winners to 8-8 before Walton collected his fifth double fault of the afternoon. It was a third set point for Fearnley, and he drew even when Walton sent a forehand return long. Each player entered the deciding set having won 80 points, but the momentum felt squarely on Fearnley’s side.

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“I was making a few mistakes, but my feeling on the ball was good,” Fearnley said. “I felt, ‘Why not?’ You have a swing, and then an hour later you’re competing for the title.”

Fearnley sent a backhand up the line to break Walton early in the third and eventually built a 4-1 lead. This time it was Walton chasing, and Fearnley netted a forehand on break point to put the match back on serve at 4-3. Walton and Fearnley traded holds before Fearnley cashed in on the only match point he needed, as Walton sent a forehand long to end it.

“I was just happy to be there,” Fearnley said. “I told myself to stay calm and enjoy it.”

Fearnley reached the second round in London thanks to a five-set rally past Alex Michelsen in the opening round. He was down two sets before stunning the eventual No. 2 seed in the field here. Fearnley joined big-serving left-hander Greg Rusedski as the second man from Great Britain to win a singles crown here and is the first Challenger player to save as many as six match points since 2011.

“You see people having amazing weeks out of nowhere all the time and people coming back from deficits all the time,” Fearnley said. “That’s the beauty of the sport and that’s what makes sports exciting – especially tennis.”

Maria needed no such rally while adding Newport to a runner-up finish last month at Eastbourne and a 2025 title at Queen’s Club. The field’s No. 2 seed jumped to a 4-0 lead and needed just 39 minutes to secure the opening set. Maria stayed in command throughout the second as well, clinching the match when Volynets went long on break point.

“At the end it got pretty tight – she was playing better and more aggressive,” Maria said. “I’m really happy with my win.”

Maria had lost her last three meetings against Volynets, including a February final on an indoor hard court in Czechia against the No. 3 seed here. This was a first career final on the grass for Volynets, who dropped her first 11 points on second serve and struggled throughout from the line. Maria used an array of slices and drop shots off both wings to keep her opponent guessing throughout.

“I think my game fits perfectly on the grass,” Maria said. “The slices, they stay low. I can go to the net. I’m serving well. It’s a really nice few weeks for me.”

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Finn Reynolds and James Watt planted a flag for New Zealand in the morning men’s doubles match, rolling in the opening set and navigating the tight moments late to post a 6-1, 6-7 (2), 10-6 win over Fernando Romboli and John-Patrick Smith.

Reynolds and Watt are the first pairing from their country to lift the crown and join Brian Fairlie (with Ismail El Shafei, 1977), Brett Steven (with Gianluca Pozzi, 1991, and Justin Gimelstob, 1997) and Artem Sitak (with Jonathan Erlich, 2018) among doubles champions from New Zealand. They held on late thanks to a thumping crosscourt forehand winner by Reynolds and a service winner by Watt, two key points that finished a race to 10.

“There aren’t a lot of us out here on the tour,” Reynolds said. “Any time we can capture a title that has as much history as one like this it’s such a special thing.”

Reynolds and Watt needed just 24 minutes to win the opening set before Romboli’s volley in the second-set tiebreaker gave the top seed the opening they needed. It came at 3-2 and touched off a string where he and Smith won four straight to close the set. Reynolds and Watt regrouped before the quick conclusion and validated their No. 2 seed in the field.

“We just started to turn it on,” Watt said. “Everything started clicking. The noise got up.”

Volynets didn’t go away empty-handed, teaming with doubles standout Iryna Shymanovich to prevail in the tournament’s last match on an outer court. They combined to post a 6-2, 7-6 (6) win over Savannah Broadus and Kylie Collins, who came just a couple points shy of forcing a second super tiebreaker of the day.

Volynets and Shymanovich made sure there would be no repeat winner the previous afternoon, taking out the team of Carmen Corley and Reese Brantmeier in the semifinals. Corley entered with sister Ivana to capture the 2025 title and partnered with another American who won last year’s NCAA singles championship at North Carolina. Shymanovich made a quick trip back to the United States after playing at Wimbledon, a tournament where she reached the women’s doubles quarterfinals with Oksana Kalashnikova in 2023.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Fearnley, Maria win singles titles at Cerity Partners Hall of Fame Open