Arthur Fery Beaten by Lorenzo Musetti in US Open Opener

Arthur Fery’s first US Open campaign ended with a 6-3 6-3 7-5 first-round defeat by Lorenzo Musetti, as the Italian halted the British number one’s hopes of building on a breakout summer at the Grand Slams.

Fery, ranked 33rd in the world after his run to the Wimbledon semi-finals, had narrowly missed out on a seeded place in New York and was handed a difficult opening draw against Musetti. The Italian, a US Open quarter-finalist 12 months earlier, had missed the previous two majors with a thigh injury but returned to win a two-hour contest on Grandstand.

Rain delayed Fery’s tournament bow until the third day at Flushing Meadows, with the match eventually played in hot and humid conditions. It was only the 24-year-old’s second appearance at an overseas major following his maiden Australian Open campaign in January.

Musetti takes control after promising Fery start

Fery arrived in New York with confidence following one of the standout British stories of the summer. His Wimbledon semi-final run, achieved as a wildcard, lifted him from 114th in the rankings to inside the top 40 and made him the first men’s wildcard to reach the last four there for 25 years.

He also came into the US Open after going close to a first ATP title in North Carolina, but Musetti’s consistency and ability to seize key openings proved decisive. Fery wore ear plugs at each change of ends, as he had done at Wimbledon, but he could not prevent the Italian from steadily taking charge.

The Briton showed inventive play and was effective at the net early on, causing Musetti problems in the opening stages. However, a pair of consecutive double faults handed Musetti the breakthrough in the first set. Fery then lost serve again as Musetti moved ahead 6-3.

Musetti strengthened his position in the second set with a backhand winner on his first break-point chance. The Italian then saved four break points to hold for a 5-2 lead before closing out another 6-3 set. His one-handed backhand repeatedly troubled Fery, who was left with a two-set deficit despite periods of encouraging play.

Third-set resistance falls short in New York

Fery refused to fade after the second set and briefly appeared capable of changing the direction of the match. He broke Musetti’s serve for the first time to establish a 2-0 lead in the third, offering the prospect of a prolonged fightback.

That advantage quickly disappeared. Musetti broke back immediately and then won four games in a row as errors began to increase from Fery. The Italian’s response erased the Briton’s early lead and put him within sight of the second round.

Fery still produced a late resistance. He saved a first match point on serve and then broke back to level the set at 5-5, keeping the contest alive and the crowd involved. But he was unable to consolidate the recovery, with Musetti eventually converting his third match point to complete the straight-sets victory.

The result sends Musetti into the second round, where he will face Australian Dane Sweeny. For Fery, the loss is a disappointing conclusion to his US Open debut but does not overshadow a year in which he established himself among the upper levels of the men’s game.

Having been outside the world’s top 200 12 months ago and never previously gone beyond the second round at a major before Wimbledon, Fery has made significant progress. His attention will now turn towards pushing on again in 2027 after a season that changed the scale of expectation around his career.