Musetti Defeats Fery at US Open: British No 1's Journey Ends
Arthur Fery arrived in New York surfing a rare surge of momentum.
A Wimbledon semi-final as a wild card.
A first ATP final in North Carolina.
At 24, the new British number one walked into Flushing Meadows looking like a man ready to make another dent in a grand slam draw.
Lorenzo Musetti stopped him cold.
On Grandstand, the Italian 13th seed imposed his class and his composure, closing out a 6-3 6-3 7-5 win that looked routine on the scoreboard but, for long stretches, demanded his full range.
For a set and a half, Fery went with him. He traded from the baseline, matched the Italian’s variety, and looked comfortable under the lights. Musetti did not stroll into the match; he had to absorb Fery’s early aggression and ride out the noise of a crowd curious about Britain’s latest late bloomer.
Then came the lapse.
Serving at a critical moment in the opening set, Fery’s rhythm deserted him. A loose game, punctuated by two double faults, tore a hole in his challenge. Until then, he had gone blow for blow. One poor service game, and Musetti had all the invitation he needed. The Italian tightened his grip, took the set, and walked back to his chair with the calm of a man who knows exactly where this kind of match usually ends.
Fery has made a habit of comebacks. Wimbledon was built on them. He hinted at another here.
Trailing 4-2 in the second, he carved out four break points, each one a small lifeline. Each one slipped away. When the last chance died with a ball dropping tamely into the net, Fery’s arms flew up in exasperation. Musetti held, the danger passed, and the second set soon followed. The scoreboard started to reflect the gulf in experience at this level.
Still, Fery refused to disappear.
At the start of the third set, he finally prised open Musetti’s usually watertight backhand, drawing an uncharacteristic error as the ball sailed long to give him his first break of the match. Grandstand stirred. The British No 1 had a foothold again, and for a few minutes the contest felt alive.
Musetti’s response was immediate and ruthless. He generated two break-back points in the very next game. Fery saved the first with a blistering forehand winner, the kind of shot that has carried him through this breakout summer. On the second, he went for the line with his backhand and missed by millimetres. The chance was gone. So, in truth, was the match.
The toll of the past week began to show. Fery’s run to the final at the Winston-Salem Open had been a career milestone, but it left its mark. By the middle of the third set, the spring in his legs had dulled, the intensity between points faded. Musetti, himself a former Wimbledon semi-finalist and no stranger to the demands of back-to-back deep runs, sensed the drop and pounced, helped by another soft service game that effectively gift-wrapped him a crucial break.
Fery still refused to fold. He fought off two match points, clinging on with the same stubborn streak that lit up his summer. But Musetti owns one of the cleanest serves in the men’s game when he needs it most. On the third match point, he unloaded an unreturnable delivery. Fery barely moved. His New York campaign ended not with a rally, but with a single, decisive blow.
The British No 1 leaves Flushing Meadows earlier than he wanted, yet with his status in the game transformed. The question now is not whether he belongs at this level, but how far this new standard can carry him when the next grand slam rolls around.
