Arthur Fery’s remarkable breakthrough season suffered a setback at the US Open, but the British number one believes his first-round defeat by Lorenzo Musetti has given him a clearer idea of what he needs to improve.
Fery, 24, was beaten 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 by the 13th-seeded Italian at Flushing Meadows on Wednesday, ending his hopes of building on his sensational run to the Wimbledon semi-finals.
The defeat came after an extraordinary rise for Fery, who was ranked outside the world’s top 200 a year ago. His run at Wimbledon lifted him from 114th into the top 40, and he arrived in New York ranked 33rd, just missing out on a seeding spot reserved for the top 32 players.
Unfortunately for Fery, his first-round draw handed him one of the more difficult opponents available. Musetti is a proven performer on the Grand Slam stage, having reached the semi-finals at both the French Open and Wimbledon, as well as the US Open quarter-finals last year.
The Italian had also missed the previous two Grand Slam tournaments because of a thigh injury, but is now beginning to rediscover his best form. Against Fery, Musetti demonstrated the quality and consistency required to compete at the highest level.
For Fery, the match also highlighted several areas he needs to work on.
“I know what I have to work on,” Fery said. “I got a lot of ideas coming straight off the court of what I have to work on to do better.”
His serve was a particular problem. Fery struggled to find his usual rhythm and committed several costly errors, including back-to-back double faults that helped Musetti secure the first break of the match.
“My serve really let me down, which is not usually the case, but I’ve been struggling a little bit to find my rhythm on the serve,” he said.
“Playing guys at that level, it’s tough and the margins are small.”
Fery had to wait longer than expected to make his US Open debut after heavy rain disrupted the schedule, with the match eventually played in hot and humid conditions.
Despite the difficult circumstances, he looked comfortable on Grandstand and showed glimpses of the form that carried him to his first ATP Tour final at the Winston-Salem Open just days earlier.
As he did during his Wimbledon run, Fery wore ear plugs during changeovers to help maintain his focus amid the constant noise around the courts.
However, Musetti gradually took control. The Italian’s one-handed backhand repeatedly troubled Fery and helped him establish a two-set lead.
Fery refused to give up and made an encouraging start to the third set, breaking Musetti to move 2-0 ahead. His advantage did not last long, though, as Musetti immediately responded with a four-game winning streak while Fery began to struggle physically and make more errors.
The Briton managed to keep the crowd interested by breaking back when Musetti served for the match, levelling the set at 5-5. However, he could not capitalise on the opportunity.
Musetti eventually secured his third match point and celebrated by pointing to his head, highlighting the mental strength that helped him close out the contest.
Fery felt he was beginning to adapt to the conditions and find his rhythm before a costly service game at 5-5 ended his hopes of extending the match.
“He makes you really work for points, exposes weaknesses, but I was getting better and better as the match went on,” Fery said.
“I slowly started to get used to the conditions and play better tennis until a really bad game at 5-5 in the third set. Then the match was over when I was feeling I could get into it.”
Despite the disappointment, the defeat does little to diminish what has been an outstanding season for Fery.
Before this summer, he had never progressed beyond the second round of a Grand Slam. He then became the first men's wildcard in 25 years to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals before following that achievement with his first ATP final in Winston-Salem.
That run also moved him closer to the world's top 30, and he has relatively few ranking points to defend during the upcoming Asian hard-court swing.
Fery has also rejected the idea that competing in Winston-Salem so close to the US Open was a mistake.
“It would have been great to have the best of both worlds but I am happy with how I handled Winston Salem and here,” he said.
For now, Fery will leave New York without a victory, but with another valuable experience against a top-level opponent. After rising so quickly in 2026, his next challenge is turning those lessons into greater consistency against the players at the top of the ATP Tour.
British hopes in the men’s singles now rest with Jacob Fearnley, Toby Samuel and Jan Choinski. Choinski’s opening match against Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp was postponed to Wednesday because of heavy rain.
In the women’s draw, Francesca Jones was leading Poland’s Magda Linette by a set when their first-round match was also suspended.
