For a few fleeting moments inside the vast John Cain Arena, it seemed like Arthur Fery had missed his opportunity. The 23-year-old’s attempts to serve out an excellent set against, the 20th seed at the Australian Open, Flavio Cobolli, had ended painfully. He quickly found himself serving down 5-6 against one of the best players in the world with his back to the wall.

These circumstances often do not favour the more inexperienced, lower-ranked players, but in one of the biggest matches of his career Fery made his own luck as he rose to the occasion and delivered the first great upset of the Australian Open, dismantling Cobolli 7-6 (1), 6-4, 6-1 to reach the second round for the first time.

The victory marks Fery’s first ever grand slam win outside Wimbledon. Fery, who sits at a career high ranking of No 185, came through the qualifying draw in his first appearance as a direct qualifying entrant. Four matches in, he still has not dropped a set.

This result actually only equals the biggest win of his career. Last year at Wimbledon, the Briton also defeated the 20th seed Alexei Popyrin, ranked No 22 just like Cobolli, in four sets to secure the first grand slam main draw victory of his career. Fery’s three previous grand slam appearances were courtesy of Wimbledon main draw wildcards between 2023 and 2025.

At just 1.75 metres (5ft 9in), Fery is one of the shortest players in the men’s draw, but the quality of his shotmaking allows him to punch high above his weight. He put Cobolli under pressure from the beginning with his smooth, tidy ground strokes, opening the court with excellent angles off both wings, looking to control the baseline by taking the ball early and constantly moving forward to the net, where he is extremely comfortable.

Throughout the match, Fery also showed his excellent defence, absorbing Cobolli’s first strike well, and he was impressively composed in the decisive moments.

“I just feel really confident,” he said. “I feel I don’t have to overplay with guys like that. With Prizmic in quallies and Cobolli today, I felt like I was really fine to stick from the back with them. I feel like I’m able to reproduce that level.”

While Fery soared, his opponent was clearly not at full strength. Cobolli requested the trainer after the first game, revealing that he had been suffering from an upset stomach and diarrhoea. After meekly conceding the tie-break, the 23-year-old tossed his racket to the side of the court and the comically sprinted at full speed for the toilet. With the first set in hand, Fery relaxed and Cobolli offered minimal opposition until the end.

This breakthrough has been a long time coming for Fery, whose development has spanned numerous nations. His parents hail from France, with his father, Loïc, an extremely wealthy French businessman and owner of the French Ligue 1 football club FC Lorient, and his mother, Olivia, a former professional tennis player. Fery was born in France but he grew up in Wimbledon.

Despite peaking at No 12 on the junior circuit, Fery felt he was not mature enough to immediately tackle the professional circuit and so, like an increasing number of British players, he decided to first embrace college tennis in the US. Fery competed at Stanford between 2020 and 2023 before joining the professional circuit full-time in the summer of 2023. Since then, a number of physical issues have slowed his rise, particularly a bone bruise to his right arm that sidelined him five months last year. It still isn’t completely resolved; Fery started his season under significant stress as he retired from his first tournament in Canberra due to his arm pain and he arrived in Melbourne uncertain about how his arm would react.

The confidence Fery has in his game and abilities is striking, but even he did not make his first trip as a professional to Australia anticipating such an enormous breakthrough result. After his qualification, Fery’s mother quickly jumped on a flight to join him, and she was courtside as her son took an enormous step forward in his blossoming career.

“When I won that last round, she asked me if she could come,” he said. “I was, ‘Of course, it would be nice to have you here.’ It’s obviously it’s a long way, but at least I made it worth it. She can see at least two matches – hopefully more.”