Arthur Fery’s US Open Lesson: Insights from Naomi Broady

Naomi Broady has seen enough of Arthur Fery to be convinced of one thing: this is only the beginning.

The former British No.3 watched Fery’s US Open debut end abruptly in the first round, beaten in straight sets by Lorenzo Musetti, but she framed the defeat as a starting gun rather than a dead end.

“Arthur's going to be playing big guys now,” she said, underlining the step up. “He's proven himself at the ATP 250 level but now people will start watching him and it becomes a cat and mouse of can he stay ahead of that. I wouldn't expect him to plateau and the next few months will be exciting. His ranking can still skyrocket.”

That’s the challenge laid out: the tour has noticed him. Now he has to stay ahead of the tape.

Fery Faces the Gap

Musetti, with his variety and experience at the top level, exposed the margins Fery must close. The Brit didn’t sugar-coat it.

“I know what I have to work on,” he said after the loss. “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. Today was particularly a struggle, but definitely playing guys at that level, it's tough and the margins are small.”

It was an honest assessment from a player who has surged quickly through the ranks. The step from ATP 250 events to the furnace of a Grand Slam main draw is brutal; Musetti simply punished every loose serve, every hesitation.

Broady’s point cuts to the heart of it: once you break through, the element of surprise disappears. Opponents arrive with a plan. The “cat and mouse” begins.

Rain, Backlogs and Frayed Schedules

While Fery’s tournament ended under the roof lights, others never even made it on court.

Rain turned Tuesday into a scheduling headache for organisers. Rafael Jodar’s match against Yunchaokete Bu and Alex de Minaur’s clash with Andrea Guerrieri were among six ties wiped out by the soggy conditions.

For players, that means waiting, re-warming, and recalibrating. For the tournament, it means a backlog in the busiest stretch of the fortnight, with courts needing to churn through matches at pace once the clouds finally move on.

The forecast at least offers some relief. Sunshine is expected later in the week, and with it, a more familiar US Open rhythm: long days, late nights, and relentless turnarounds.

Bencic’s Flashpoint

On another court, tension almost boiled over into disaster.

Belinda Bencic, the 12th seed, crashed out in the first round to Yulia Putintseva. Frustration spilled out in the second set: after losing a game, the Swiss star fired her spare ball into the crowd.

She escaped with a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct. It could easily have been worse.

Players have been disqualified in the past for striking balls into the stands, particularly when spectators were hit. Bencic avoided that fate, but the incident was a sharp reminder of how thin the line can be between anger and ejection at this level.

A young Brit learning the hard truths of elite tennis. Seeds falling early. Schedules torn up by rain. The opening days in New York have already carried a hint of chaos — and for players like Arthur Fery, that chaos is exactly where reputations are made or broken.