No repeat of Wimbledon heroics as Fery exits US Open
BBC Sport · C · trust 48/100
Britain's Arthur Fery says he knows what he needs to "do better" against the world's leading players after losing to Italian 13th seed Lorenzo Musetti on his US Open debut.
The surprise Wimbledon semi-finalist was unable to repeat his heroics at the All England Club as Musetti proved too strong in New York.
Fery, 24, was looking to build on the sensational, breakout run at his home Grand Slam, an achievement which catapulted him from 114th in the world rankings to inside the top 40.
But having narrowly missed out on a seed at Flushing Meadows - awarded to the top 32 players - the world number 33 could count himself unfortunate to draw a player of Musetti's calibre in the first round.
Musetti is a talented all-rounder who has contested French Open and Wimbledon semi-finals, as well as reaching the US Open quarter-finals last year.
Having missed the past two majors with a thigh injury, the former world number five is rediscovering his form and showed Fery in a 6-3 6-3 7-5 win what it takes to become a leading figure on the ATP Tour.
"I know what I have to work on," Fery said. "I got a lot of ideas coming straight off the court of what I have to work on to do better.
"My serve really let me down today, which is not usually the case, but I've been struggling a little bit to find my rhythm on the serve.
"Playing guys at that level, it's tough and the margins are small."
This was only British number one Fery's second appearance at an overseas major, following his maiden Australian Open campaign in January.
He was made to wait longer than he might have anticipated to make his tournament bow on a rain-delayed third day at Flushing Meadows, and the match was eventually contested in hot and humid conditions.
Fresh from reaching his first ATP Tour final at the Winston-Salem Open, Fery appeared at home on Grandstand - the US Open's third-biggest arena.
The Briton wore ear plugs during each change of ends, just as he did at Wimbledon, to maintain focus at a tournament which is notorious for the hum of constant noise.
But it was not enough for Fery to concoct a gameplan which could beat Musetti.
Despite a promising start, Fery gifted his opponent the breakthrough with back-to-back double faults, before losing serve again to concede the first set.
Musetti's trademark one-handed backhand repeatedly hurt Fery and helped him take charge of the second set.
Refusing to lose hope after falling two sets down, Fery threatened to launch a fightback in the third when he broke for the first time to take a 2-0 lead.
That revival was short-lived. Musetti produced an immediate response, embarking on a four-game run as the errors began creeping in for the fading Fery.
While Fery saved a first match point on his serve, and kept the crowd engaged by breaking back to level at five games apiece, he was again left frustrated by his inability to back it up.
Musetti pointed to his head in celebration after eventually seizing his third match point and setting up a second-round meeting with Australian Dane Sweeny.
"He makes you really work for points, exposes weaknesses, but I was getting better and better as the match went on," said Fery.
"I slowly started to get used to the conditions and play better tennis until a really bad game at 5-5 in the third set.
"Then the match was over when I was feeling I could get into it."
While disappointed to exit at the first hurdle, this invaluable experience will not take away from a memorable year for Fery, who was outside the world's top 200 a year ago.
The first men's wildcard to reach the last four at Wimbledon for 25 years, he will look to push on in the coming months after establishing himself in the upper echelons of the game.
Fery, who had never progressed beyond the second round at a Grand Slam tournament before this summer, has few ranking points to defend when he goes to the Asian hard-court swing later this month.
Reaching his first ATP final last weekend pushed him closer to the top 30 and Fery says he has no regrets playing in North Carolina so close to the US Open.
"It's the life we are used to as tennis players going from tournament to tournament every week," he said.
"It would have been great to have the best of both worlds but I am happy with how I handled Winston Salem and here."
The British interest in the men's singles now rests with Jacob Fearnley, Toby Samuel and Jan Choinski.
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