The girlfriend of British tennis hero Jacob Fearnley has shared the emotional moment she told him 'I love you' after his stunning five-set victory at Wimbledon. Keagan Polk, 23, a tax accountant from Dallas, Texas, was courtside as Fearnley came back from two sets down to beat Alex Michelsen in the first round.
Speaking exclusively to the Mirror, Polk said: 'I think I just said "I love you". I got emotional just because tennis is so hard. I mean, I'm not even in it, I'm not on the court, but it's such a difficult sport, such a difficult job. Any guy that's out here is incredible and brave. I would give the racket to the other player and be like, "I'm okay, you win!"'
Fearnley's Comeback Victory
Fearnley, world number 159 and a wildcard entry, earned £80,000 in prize money for reaching the next round. Polk added: 'It was a really great turnaround and he came from, not maybe playing the way he wanted to, to playing the player that's very good on the grass and competing. So it was great.'
'Honestly going into the fifth set, regardless of the outcome, I was just happy because he had played good enough tennis to get himself back in the match. He has a new strength coach, Matt Little, who was sitting to the right of me. He was bringing the energy the whole game, so that kind of kept things not so stressful, which was great.'
Meeting and Relationship
Polk, a former college beach volleyball player, met Fearnley, from Dalkeith, Scotland, at a party at Texas Christian University (TCU) when they were introduced by mutual friend Daniela Álvarez Mendoza, a Spanish Olympic beach volleyball star. 'We met when I was 18 at TCU. His freshman neighbour Daniela Alvarez ended up being one of my very best friends. She was an Olympian and was at the Paris Olympics for beach volleyball,' Polk said.
'I played beach volleyball in college. He played tennis and from the moment I saw him, I thought he was the most beautiful man in the world. He was so kind and eventually, after some months of persistence, he decided he liked me too!'
Life Off the Court
Polk works full-time for a wealth management firm in Dallas, which limits her travel to Fearnley's tournaments. 'I always wanted to have a career. I maybe go to four or five tournaments a year. So I'm definitely not a tennis girlfriend! But I am starting a new job on July 15th, so I've been able to come out. It's been amazing,' she said.
'We're staying together during the tournament, but we aren't staying in Wimbledon this year, so we've been able to kind of go to coffee and like just explore London and just be kind of out of the bubble, which is nice because it gets so busy around this time. He is so passionate about his career, and I'm passionate about mine, and he does his thing, and I'm just there to support.'
Fearnley's Reaction
After the match, Fearnley said: 'Obviously coming from two sets down, it felt like a decent little mountain to climb. I feel I handled it well. Actually, once I got that break in the third, I kind of felt like things were going. I ended up carrying the momentum forward and forward for the rest of the match. So it was good.'
He added: 'I had my college coach there, Devin, who I owe a lot of my tennis journey to, incredible coach, incredible person. Obviously my coach Juan, Hilts from the LTA, my girlfriend was there, one of my best friends Luke. It was really special.'
'My mom was there, but she was on the other side. But she's also there, I have to add. But yeah, I think it was really special. I give those guys a hug. Obviously those guys see the good stuff, the bad stuff, behind the scenes. Just to have a win like that is really important.'
