British qualifier Arthur Fery claimed another notable Grand Slam scalp by beating Italian 20th seed Flavio Cobolli to cause the first shock on day one of the Australian Open.
Fery, 23, matched the biggest win of his career, having also beat 20th seed Alexei Popyrin at Wimbledon last year, with a 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 6-1 victory in a sweaty Melbourne.
Cobolli was struggling physically from the start with a stomach issue, running off court at the end of the opening set for a toilet break.
“It seems I like drawing 20th seeds at Grand Slams,” Fery, who is ranked 185th in the world, joked afterwards.
“I love playing on big courts and big stages.”
Cobolli, 23, took electrolyte tablets provided by the doctor after going off court, then asked again to see the medical staff for a time-out after going 3-0 down in the third set.
Nevertheless, 185th-ranked Fery deserves huge credit for the way he approached the situation on his main-draw at an overseas Grand Slam.
The Londoner, who grew up in Wimbledon close to the All England Club, played smartly and aggressively, looking to further punish Cobolli by moving him around the court.
Fery stands 5ft 9in and lacks the punch of some opponents with his serve, but illustrated there is plenty of venom in his groundstrokes as he fired forehands past his opponent.
The body language of a desolate-looking Cobolli showed how much he was struggling as Fery closed in on victory, producing a series of double faults to trail 5-1 in the third set.
Given his comfortable cushion, Fery had no issue serving out for the second Grand Slam victory – and only the third tour-level win – of his career.
Now he will face Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic or Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry – both unseeded but been ranked inside the top 30 – in the second round.
