ATP Tour

World No. 185 Fery scores first upset of Australian Open

British qualifier Arthur Fery earned the first win of the 2026 Australian Open men’s draw on Sunday when he upset 20th seed Flavio Cobolli 7-6(1), 6-4, 6-1.

“Incredible experience here,” said Fery in his on-court interview. “My first time playing a main-draw Slam outside of Wimbledon and it didn’t disappoint on such a great court with great fans as well.”

Fery, 23, has claimed two of his three tour-level victories at Slam level. Last year at Wimbledon, the then-No. 461 in the PIF ATP Rankings stunned Alexei Popyrin in the opening round. Fittingly, Popyrin was the 20th seed, the same seed which Fery ousted Down Under.

A former two-time ITA All-American at Stanford University, Fery produced superb shotmaking throughout the two-hour, 12-minute clash and converted six of his 10 break-point chances. Cobolli took a medical timeout after three games and received several visits from the doctor across the match, seemingly struggling with a stomach issue. The World No. 22 was unable to find rhythm and counter Fery’s fearless baseline play at John Cain Arena.

Fery, who began the season’s first major at a career-high No. 185 in the PIF ATP Rankings, will look to build upon his momentum against Miomir Kecmanovic or Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

Cobolli helped guide Italy to a third consecutive Davis Cup title in November. Cobolli was clutch that week, not only clinching the final victory against Spain, but also saving seven match points against Belgium's Zizou Bergs in the semi-finals.

The 23-year-old was playing his third match of the 2026 season. He went 1-1 at the United Cup, earning a three-set victory against Stan Wawrinka before falling to Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 7-5 in a three-hour, 21-minute nailbiter.