Musetti Defeats Fery in Straight-Sets at US Open
The surge had to stall somewhere. For Arthur Fery, it happened under the bright New York lights, on Grandstand, against a man who’s been here before.
The 24-year-old Brit arrived at Flushing Meadows surfing a remarkable few months: a historic run to the Wimbledon semi-finals as a wild card, a first ATP final in North Carolina last week, and a new status as British number one. He came to the US Open believing another deep grand slam run was possible.
Lorenzo Musetti had other ideas.
The Italian 13th seed imposed his class in a crisp, controlled 6-3 6-3 7-5 victory, a scoreline that told the story of a match where Fery often stood toe-to-toe, but repeatedly slipped at the key moments.
A Set Lost in One Bad Game
For much of the opening set, Fery looked comfortable in elite company. He matched Musetti from the baseline, traded aggressively, and showed the same fearless intent that lit up Wimbledon.
Then came the lapse.
Serving at a critical moment, Fery handed Musetti the initiative with a ragged game, capped by two double faults. One poor spell, one loose service game, and the set was gone. Against a player of Musetti’s precision, that margin is fatal.
Fery had been close to being seeded in New York; a few ranking points more and he would have avoided this kind of early examination. Instead, he found himself trying to solve a top-20 player with almost no room for error.
Chances Missed, Frustration Visible
The second set brought the kind of window Fery has seized all summer. Trailing 4-2, he carved out four break points, the door suddenly ajar.
He couldn’t walk through it.
Each chance slipped away, the last one dying in the net. Fery’s reaction said everything: arms flung up, a mix of disbelief and anger. Those are the moments he turned around at Wimbledon. Here, the ball just would not obey.
Musetti, calm and composed, tightened his grip. The Italian’s backhand, usually immaculate, dictated the rallies, and the scoreboard kept tilting his way.
A Late Push, But the Tank Runs Low
Fery refused to fold. At the start of the third set he finally broke serve, Musetti’s backhand floating long to give the Brit his first real foothold in the match. For a flicker, Grandstand felt the possibility of another Fery comeback.
The response from Musetti was ruthless.
He immediately created two break-back points. Fery saved the first with a blistering forehand winner, a reminder of the weapons that have carried him up the rankings, but then dragged a backhand just millimetres wide. The chance to turn the match on its head vanished by a fraction.
The workload of the past week began to show. Fery’s run to the final at the Winston-Salem Open had been exhilarating, but by the third set in New York, the energy that usually fuels his scrambling defence and explosive counter-punching seemed to drain away. Musetti, a former Wimbledon semi-finalist himself, sensed it and was handed another break as the British number one’s level dipped.
Still, Fery fought to the last. He saved two match points, clinging on, forcing Musetti to finish the job the hard way. On the third, the Italian did exactly that, thundering down an unreturnable serve to shut the door on Fery’s campaign.
No miracle escape this time. Just a sharp reminder of what it takes to turn a breakout season into a permanent place at the top.
