Jacob Fearnley's girlfriend speaks about emotional moment he won at Wimbledon

Jacob Fearnley's girlfriend speaks about emotional moment he won at Wimbledon EXCLUSIVE: Former college beach volleyball player Keagan Polk, 23, told of her pride in Jacob Fearnley, who became just the third Brit to reach the third round of this year's tournament British tennis hero Jacob Fearnley's girlfriend has revealed she was on the verge of tears and touchingly told him 'I love you' after his heroic victory at Wimbledon. The 24-year-old wildcard entry was pictured kissing his girlfriend Keagan Polk, 23, at the side of the court after coming back from two sets down to beat Alex Michelsen in a five-set first round thriller. Keagan, a tax accountant from Dallas, Texas, told the Mirror: "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!'." Keagan added: "He's like a wizard, so after he finishes matches, he disappears for two or three hours. He just told me to make sure his mom doesn't leave because he wants to give her a hug." Keagan could not contain her pride at what Jacob, world number 159, had achieved, including netting £80,000 in prize money for reaching the next round. She said: "It was a really great turnaround and he came from, not maybe playing the way to 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." Asked how far she thinks Jacob can get in the tournament, Keagan said: "It's hard to say. I think on the grass, I know everybody has said it, so I'm probably a broken record, but anything could happen on the grass. It could be anybody's day at any given time." Keagan, a former college volleyball player, met Jacob, from Dalkeith, just south of Edinburgh, when they were introduced by mutual pal Daniela Álvarez Mendoza, a Spanish Olympic volleyball star, while at a party at university in Texas. She said: "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. "I played beach volleyball on 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! "He's got a great accent. For Americans, we don't see that very often. And he's also just a super, super nice guy - genuinely one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. And for me, that was something that I loved about him from the moment that I met him and nearly five years later, here we are." Keagan works full-time for a wealth management firm in Dallas, meaning she can't travel to all of Jacob's tournaments. She said: "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. "I'm a tax accountant, so I work for a wealth management firm in Dallas, which is where I'm from. Travelling full time was never really an option, it's something that we talked about, but it's good to be able to go get back in the routine and then come every once in a while for the tennis. "We're staying together during the tournanent, 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." Speaking 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." Speaking about the moment he celebrated with his loved ones, including Keagan, 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. For me personally one of the things that drive me is to, you know, make those guys proud and to see a smile on their face after a win like that. That's the thing that I care most about honestly today is I'm obviously happy with myself, but to see how happy they are, it means a lot for me."