Musetti Beats Fery at US Open

Lorenzo Musetti beat Arthur Fery 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 in the first round of the 2026 US Open, ending the British No. 1's Flushing Meadows debut in straight sets. The No. 13 seed is back in New York after missing the French Open and Wimbledon with a thigh injury. Last year he reached the US Open quarterfinals.

Fery arrived as the Wimbledon semifinalist who had climbed to a career-high around No. 33. He was not seeded in New York and drew a brutal Round 1 opponent. Musetti made that draw stick.

Fery's third-set push

Musetti took the first set after Fery gifted the breakthrough with back-to-back double faults, then controlled the second from the baseline with backhand winners, per BBC and Sky. The third set was the only real drama.

Per BBC Sport and Sky Sports, Fery broke for a 2-0 lead in the third set and later saved a match point while serving at 5-3, then broke back to level at 5-5. Musetti broke again for 6-5 and served it out, converting his third match point. The Italian pointed to his head after the final point.

"That match point at 5-3, I didn't hit the ball well on the passing shot! Then I had fear and was shaking a bit at 5-4," Musetti said on court, per Sky Sports. "I'm really really happy because I missed two Grand Slams, which was tough, and I'm happy to be back in New York."

What is next

Musetti next faces Australian wildcard Dane Sweeny. Fery said afterward that his serve let him down and that he knows what he has to work on against players at that level. "I know what I have to work on," he told BBC Sport. The Wimbledon run still stands. The US Open debut does not.

Fery wore ear plugs on changeovers, just as he did at Wimbledon, trying to cut through the Flushing Meadows noise. It was not enough. Sky Sports' coverage noted Musetti's one-handed backhand repeatedly opened the court, and Tim Henman called the match a learning curve for a player still short on experience at that level outside the UK.

Elsewhere in the men's bracket, Flavio Cobolli completed a five-set comeback and Alexander Zverev survived five sets against Lorenzo Sonego. Musetti's night was cleaner than both. Straight sets, a late scare at 5-3 in the third, and a Round 2 date with Sweeny after two missed majors.