Arthur Fery shrugged off VAR drama to post a statement first-round win over Wimbledon quarter-finalist Flavio Cobolli on his Australian Open debut.
The 23-year-old Londoner came through qualifying without dropping a set and impressed hugely on John Cain Arena in a 7-6 (1) 6-4 6-1 victory against an out-of-sorts Cobolli.
The win comes six months after Fery toppled 20th seed Alexei Popyrin on home soil at Wimbledon, so being paired with the equivalent player here could have been considered a good omen.
He got better and better as the contest went on, completely dominating the final stages as he won eight of the last nine games, with Italian Cobolli appearing to be feeling unwell.
A lengthy first set saw both players call for video reviews, Cobolli in the seventh game after Fery appeared to have broken serve, with his opponent arguing the young British player had touched the net before the ball had bounced wide.
Fery challenged in the ninth game when he believed Cobolli had hit an underarm serve while a ball boy was still moving.
Both were obvious calls – with Fery on the right side both times – yet, in scenes all too familiar to Premier League football fans, the outcome took several minutes with the players left waiting impatiently to continue.
Fery, who is ranked down at 185, was playing in just his fifth main draw match at a grand slam but he possesses a great self assurance and he did not allow the incidents to distract him.
He put behind him the disappointment of failing to serve out the opening set by breezing through the tie-break, where he was helped by some poor errors from his erratic opponent.
Cobolli had largely been the aggressor but Fery – who is listed at a generous 5ft 9in by the ATP but compensates for his lack of height with terrific athleticism and a fast arm – stepped closer to the baseline in the second set and earned his reward.
He is also not afraid to come to the net and a terrific returning game earned him a break to take the second set, while Cobolli was a beaten man in the third, with the Italian calling the trainer after three games and unable to find any response.
