Cincinnati Open 2026: Arthur Fery loses close contest with fifth seed Alex de Minaur
• 2 minute read
Britain’s Arthur Fery lost in the third round of the Cincinnati Open against fifth seed Alex de Minaur in two close sets.
Fery led throughout the opener and showed great resilience to come back in the second, but eventually lost 7-5, 7-6(3) to the world No.8.
The Wimbledon semi-finalist leaves Cincinnati having claimed his first ATP Masters 1000 victory over James Duckworth earlier in the week and had his chances against De Minaur.
The Australian saved 11 of 13 break points faced across the two sets, but managed to take three of his four opportunities, which ultimately proved the difference.
Having managed just one game before a rain delay, Fery made a bright start but failed to capitalise on three break points with a 2-1 lead.
De Minaur had the experience and quality in the closing stages of the first set. With a break point at 5-5, the Australian played a perfect diving forehand right to the feet of the oncoming Fery to edge in front for the first time in the match.
The fifth seed served out the set to love, before they were disrupted by another heavy downpour of rain.
De Minaur picked up where he left off after the break, racing out to a 5-1 lead and seemed to have put the match beyond doubt. However, another rain interruption gave Fery a chance to regroup.
The Briton came back out swinging, putting together a run of five straight games to take the Aussie into a tie-break.
While momentum seemed to be with Fery, that experience in the big moments paid off once again for De Minaur. Watched on by his now-wife and British No.2 Katie Boulter, De Minaur was rock solid in the tie-break and didn’t drop a point on serve to close out the match in two hours and six minutes.
It’s another step forward for Fery – who was also announced as part of the Lexus Great Britain Davis Cup squad to face Ecuador yesterday.
