Arthur Fery is considering turning professional after showing his potential on his Wimbledon debut in a narrow defeat to third seed Daniil Medvedev.
The 20-year-old, ranked 391, matched his illustrious opponent in the first set before a rain delay disrupted things and eventually fell to a 7-5 6-4 6-3 loss.
Fery has followed Cameron Norrie’s route by taking a scholarship to a US college – Stanford in his case – and has to decide soon whether to complete his degree or pursue his sporting dreams immediately.
“I’ve still got a fourth year to do,” he said. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do yet regarding that. I’ll have to choose, decide over the summer what I do.
“But experiences like I had today make me push towards going pro. I think I played well and handled my nerves well. I feel like it could be a pretty standard thing in the coming years to play in these tournaments on the big courts. I feel more and more ready as the years go by to switch to the pro career.”
Fery’s natural touch and willingness to come to the net make him well suited to grass and he looked at home on Court One straight away after a rain shower delayed the start.
Fery, who has French parents but grew up in Wimbledon, won his opening two service games to love and forced a break point on the serve of Medvedev – playing his first match at the All England Club since 2021 after last year’s ban.
It was the Russian who made the first move with a break for 3-2 but Fery delighted the crowd by hitting straight back, prompting his excited father Loic – owner of French top division football club Lorient – to leap from his seat punching the air.
Fery held his own until 5-5 when rain again began to fall, calling into serious question the organisers’ decision not to close the roof.
Still it stayed open, and the delay did not help Fery as he dropped his serve on the resumption before Medvedev, who was returning from metres behind the baseline, clinched the opening set.
Listed at a generous 5ft 8in on the ATP website, Fery was giving away nearly a foot to his opponent and Medvedev began to make his longer levers count, drawing more errors from his young opponent.
Medvedev was not exactly water-tight himself and Fery had some help in recovering from 4-2 to 4-4 down in the second set but he was broken again straight away and his opponent gradually pulled away.
“It was obviously an unbelievable experience,” said Fery, who left the court to loud cheers. “The crowd was great. I enjoyed every moment out there.
“Some of the shots he hit today I hadn’t seen before, didn’t think were possible. It definitely widens the spectrum and the realm of things that you can do on a tennis court.
“Now that I know the top players do that, it’s just a great experience. Lots to take out of it that I can take on to my next performance, and hopefully get back on the big courts here against the big players and feel like it’s more of a normal thing.”
Medvedev admitted he was unsure how he would be received as a Russian but he was touched by the warmth towards him.
“There was zero, let’s say, negative energy that I felt,” he said. “I never had such a good reception at Wimbledon. It’s much better than I had before. So that’s great.”
The 27-year-old vowed to try to keep his own negative emotions in check by way of thanks, saying: “Not getting crazy, not being a selfish kid on the court. Sometimes I can be. I’m going to try to give back to people here in Wimbledon and just try to show some good tennis.”
Osaka beats Kostyuk for landmark win at Italian Open
Naomi Osaka recorded her first win over a top-20 opponent on clay at the Italian Open on Thursday, posting an impressive 6-3 6-2 victory against Marta Kostyuk to reach the third round.
Having opened her first Italian Open campaign since 2021 with a straight-sets win over Clara Burel on Wednesday, Osaka produced another slick performance to down the world number 20 one day later.
Osaka blitzed Kostyuk to take the opener in just 36 minutes, taking advantage of a sloppy start from the Ukrainian, who served at just 40 per cent in the first set and tallied 15 unforced errors.
The former world number one then forced a break within three games in the second set, only for rain to halt proceedings after she went 3-1 up.
She showed no signs of rustiness upon returning to the court, though, even responding to a late loss of serve with an immediate break back to tee up a third-round clash with 10th seed Daria Kasatkina.
Data Debrief: First for Osaka on least favourite surface
Osaka has never considered herself a clay-court specialist, failing to reach a single tour-level final on the surface throughout her career.
Ahead of Thursday's match, she was 0-8 on clay against opponents in the top 20 of the WTA rankings. However, a routine victory should give her hope of repeating the feat against Kasatkina next time out.
Nadal fights back to win opener in Rome
Rafael Nadal fought back from a slow start to defeat Belgian qualifier Zizou Bergs 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in his opening match at the Italian Open.
Nadal endured a poor first set, losing five of the last six games, but turned things around in impressive style, spending two hours and 47 minutes on the court on Thursday.
The 10-time Italian Open champion saved all five break points he faced in the second and third sets to take key points and earn a seventh win of the season.
Nadal is competing in his third consecutive tour-level event after missing most of last year due to a hip injury that required surgery before his comeback was halted by a muscle tear in January.
"That was not my best match, I was practising better than I played today, but I found a way to win," he said after the match.
"That’s so important at the beginning of the tournament. My game is more unpredictable than before. I didn’t play much tennis for the last two years, so have some ups and downs, on and off, but I think I can do much better than today and I hope to do it next round."
The Spaniard will face seventh-seeded Hubert Hurkacz in the second round.
Data Debrief:
Nadal had only lost one of his previous 18 opening-round matches in Rome before Thursday and avoided adding to that tally in his final appearance at the tournament.
He has the most wins at the Foro Italico (70), where he first claimed the title on his debut in 2005.
Osaka makes winning return at Italian Open
Naomi Osaka claimed a straight sets victory over Clara Burel in the first round of the Italian Open.
Making her first appearance in Rome since 2021, former world number one Osaka prevailed 7-6 (7-2) 6-1 on Wednesday, marking her first win over a top-50 opponent on clay since she defeated Victoria Azarenka at Roland Garros in 2019.
Osaka, who is now ranked 173rd in the world by the WTA, will face Marta Kostyuk in the second round.
She previously faced Kostyuk in the 2020 US Open, en route to winning her third major title.
Data Debrief: Back with a bang
Osaka reached the quarter-finals of the Italian Open in 2019, but did not win a game in 2021 and has not appeared at any other edition since then.
That means the 26-year-old won her first match at the event since she beat Mihaela Buzarnescu in 2019 (1,819 days ago). She wrapped up the win in one hour and 24 minutes, finishing with 27 winners, including eight aces.
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