Melbourne, Jan 18 : World No. 185 and British qualifier Arthur Fery delivered the first major upset of the Australian Open 2026, defeating 20th seed Flavio Cobolli 7-6(1), 6-4, 6-1 on the opening day of the Grand Slam tournament.

Last year at Wimbledon, Fery defeated Alexei Popyrin in the first round, who was the 20th seed in the Grand Slam. Interestingly, Popyrin was also the 20th seed when he lost to Fery last January.

The 23-year-old was competing in his third match of the 2026 season. He posted a 1-1 record at the United Cup, securing a three-set win over Stan Wawrinka before losing to French player Arthur Rinderknech 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 7-5 in a tense three-hour, 21-minute match.

Fery, a two-time ITA All-American from Stanford University, delivered an excellent match, winning six of his ten break points during a 2-hour and 12-minute game. Against Cobolli, he took medical time-outs after the first three games and received multiple visits from a doctor throughout the match due to a stomach issue, which may have affected his performance.

â??Incredible experience here. My first time playing a main-draw Slam outside of Wimbledon and it didnâ??t disappoint on such a great court with great fans as well,â?? said Fery in his on-court interview.

He struggled to find rhythm against Fery's aggressive baseline play at John Cain Arena. After beginning the year's first Grand Slam with a PIF ATP Ranking of 185, Fery aims to build on his success in the next round, where he will face either Miomir Kecmanovic or Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

Last November, Cobolli was part of the Italian team that secured its third straight Davis Cup victory. He played a key role that week, not only winning the final match against Spain but also saving seven match points in the semi-finals against Zizou Bergs of Belgium.

/IANS