British tennis have their first player into the second round of the Australian Open, and his name is Arthur Fery.
Having battled his way through a stacked qualifying draw, just making it to the main draw marked an overwhelming success for the 23-year-old.
After all, this marked his debut at this level at a Grand Slam that wasn’t Wimbledon, where he has received three wildcards.
It was a shame to see him drawn against someone of Flavio Cobolli’s quality, but a solid performance and a first-round exit would have represented progress for Fery.
However, he clearly had not read the script.
Arthur Fery reacts after beating Flavio Cobolli at the Australian Open
Fery was ferocious and brave as he took on the Italian, who many were tipping to enjoy a strong start to the season after he finished 2026 with such a flourish.
However, he was handily beaten, dismantled in straight sets by his less-experienced opponent.
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Speaking to the Australian Open press after arguably the biggest win of his career to date, he was first asked how this win compared to his triumph against Alexei Popyrin at Wimbledon just last year.
Fery admitted: “Very different because it’s abroad. It’s a slam away from Wimbledon. I mean, yeah, 20th seed, completely different players as well.
“So, yeah, I mean, obviously when you see the draw, you play a seed, you know you need your best tennis to get through. Maybe, yeah, it was a good thing for me as well to know that I had to really play well and, yeah, bring my best tennis today to have a chance. I thought I did that. I felt really at that level.”
He then spoke about the nerves, adding: “Yeah, of course nervous beforehand. But at the same time I came through quallies, I’m playing a guy who is way higher ranked than me, so I feel I have nothing to lose.
“And yeah, felt like I held my nerve really well in the third set. Yeah, it’s easy to hold back a little bit when you know you’re very close to the finishing line. But, yeah, I felt like I did a really good job today, as in the last round of quallies as well to, yeah, get through it without any real nerves.”
Who is British tennis star Arthur Fery?
Fery qualified for the Australian Open having beaten some top-class opponents; this first overseas major main draw win represents a huge step forward in his young career.
After all, he only made his debut at the Grand Slam level in 2023, so it has been a meteoric rise for the youngster in just three years.
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A regular on the Challenger tour, it’s refreshing to see him now prove his worth at the ATP level.
Despite being born in Paris, he represents Great Britain and made his debut for the Davis Cup team just last year as well.
In winning this match, Fery has become just the third British qualifier in the Open Era to win a Men’s Singles main draw match at the Australian Open.
