Arthur Fery Stuns 20th Seed Flavio Cobolli To Reach Australian Open Second Round

Last Updated:January 18, 2026, 11:04 IST

Arthur Fery stuns Flavio Cobolli at Australian Open, making his mum Olivia proud after she flew in to watch his main draw debut at Melbourne Park.

Arthur Fery celebrates after defeating Flavio Cobolli (Picture credit: AP)

Briton Arthur Fery made his tennis-mad mum proud on Sunday, January 18, after she flew in from Europe to watch him qualify for the Australian Open and then upset 20th seed Flavio Cobolli.

The 23-year-old, ranked 185 and making his main draw debut at Melbourne Park, defeated the Italian 7-6 (7/1), 6-4, 6-1 on John Cain Arena.

“Very satisfying. I was already happy to qualify here for my first time and now, obviously, coming through qualies and winning a round, I am proud of it," he said.

Fery’s only other Grand Slam second round appearance was at Wimbledon last year, where he also beat a 20th seed in the first round—Australian Alexei Popyrin.

When he successfully qualified in Melbourne, his mum, Olivia, who played in the 1991 Roland Garros women’s doubles, quickly flew to Australia to support him.

“When I won that last round of qualifying, she asked me if she could come," he said.

“I was, ‘of course, it would be nice to have you here’. It’s obviously a long way, but at least I made it worth it. She can see at least two matches—hopefully more."

Asked if she had given him any tips, given her own professional tennis career, he replied: “When I was younger. Now, not so much.

“She leaves me with my coaches to talk about tennis. But like everyone’s mum and dad, I guess they give you life advice."

Defeat was a big setback for Cobolli, who appeared to be battling a stomach issue throughout the match.

He reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals last year, before falling to Novak Djokovic and won two ATP titles in Bucharest and Hamburg.

(With AFP Inputs)

News sports tennis Arthur Fery Stuns 20th Seed Flavio Cobolli To Reach Australian Open Second Round

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