Arthur Fery loses to Lorenzo Musetti at US Open as British No 1 struggles against Italian's heavy topspin

Six weeks on from the fortnight that changed his life, Arthur Fery’s first grand slam appearance since his semi-final run at Wimbledon came under considerably different circumstances. He is now the 33rd best men’s player in the world, a direct entrant for all of the biggest tournaments, and he has continued to gain experience at the highest level of professional tennis each week.

As a result of his continued exposure on the tour, though, Fery’s adversaries have also learned a bit more about him. In his first main draw appearance at the US Open, Fery came up against a prepared and sharp Lorenzo Musetti, who knew exactly how to exploit the vulnerable parts of his game in order to secure a win. The Italian comprehensively outplayed the British No 1, reaching the second round with a comfortable 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 victory.

This was an emphatic, impressive performance from Musetti, who handcuffed Fery with his heavy topspin and simply had far too many options for his opponent. Despite fighting hard until the end, Fery’s game looked underpowered as he struggled to consistently hit through one of the best defensive players in the world.

Fery had actually started well enough, quickly finding rhythm behind his serve as he eased through his first three service games. However, as the Italian began to take control of the baseline with his forehand, the Briton’s serve capitulated. Down 15-30 at 3-3, Fery threw in his first two double faults of the match on consecutive points to hand over the first break.

Once that was secured, Musetti opened up his shoulders and imposed relentless pressure on Fery. Musetti spent much of the match pushing Fery behind the baseline with his heavy spin and height. With the ball consistently bouncing high above his shoulders and out of his strike zone, Fery struggled to counter Musetti effectively. He veered between desperately trying to take the ball on the rise, constantly spraying errors, and being dictated to by Musetti whenever he tried to hang back and wait for the ball to drop. He never really looked comfortable.

Over the course of their two hours on court, Musetti also made use of his far greater weaponry. He served well in decisive moments and effortlessly stepped inside the baseline, dominating with his forehand when necessary.

He also struck his sweet single-handed backhand supremely well on certain key points, particularly in the second set, where he converted the decisive break point and then saved a later break point with supreme down-the-line backhand winners.

In the aftermath of his shock run to the Wimbledon semi-finals, Fery has managed himself well. He performed at a high level in Cincinnati, winning a round and then pushing Alex de Minaur, the world No 8, in two tight sets. Last week, he reached his first ATP final in Winston-Salem, providing more evidence that he belongs at this level.

He is yet to lose to any lower-ranked opponent. But the standard at the top of men’s tennis is incredibly high and competing with players of Musetti’s calibre will come with many more losses and lessons. It remains to be seen how much these lessons will enable him to improve.

For Musetti, this is a hopeful first performance as he tries to put himself back in contention for big titles after a torrid year. Musetti had started the season ranked No 5 and he was en route to a first Australian Open semi-final in Melbourne when he was forced to withdraw due to injury while leading Novak Djokovic by two sets in their quarter-final match. After a few months out, it has taken even longer for Musetti to rebuild confidence in his game and body. He is finally beginning to resemble his old self again.

Elsewhere, Elena Rybakina made a positive step forward in her pursuit of the No 1 ranking as she moved into the second round with a 6-3, 6-2 win over the 17-year-old American wildcard Thea Frodin.

There have been ample doubts surrounding Rybakina after she suffered a foot injury at the Cincinnati Open that forced her to retire from her quarter-final match against Iga Swiatek but she appeared comfortable on the court as she overpowered her inexperienced opponent.

Rybakina currently sits at No 1 in the live rankings and she would become the world No 1 for the first time in her career if she reaches the semi-finals or if Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff do not win the tournament.

In the men’s draw, the fifth seed and French Open finalist Flavio Cobolli produced one of the best comebacks of his career to escape a tough battle with the Argentinian Francisco Comesaña, recovering from a two-set deficit to reach the second round with a 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win.