British No1 Arthur Fery won his first Tour-level match since August with a command performance against veteran star Marin Cilic in the first round of the Shanghai Masters.
Three months on from his miraculous run at Wimbledon, the world No35 has been stop-start on-court, with a fine showing en route to the final of the Winston-Salem Open sandwiched between early exits at the Cincinnati Masters and the US Open.
Fery also endured a false start to his Asian swing when he was knocked out in the first round of the China Open by Portuguese Jaime Faria.
In Shanghai however, Fery was matchless on serve against the former world No3, with the 24-year-old getting the better of Cilic in the first-set tiebreak before romping away with the second to win 7-6(2), 6-1.
Having won just one previous Masters match, this is still very new territory for Fery, with the French-born Briton even flustered for a moment or two as he wondered what to write on the camera lens, as is custom for match-winners at top tournaments.
He settled simply for writing ‘Shanghai (heart)’, understandably keeping his message simple.
Arthur Fery claimed his first win of the Asian swing against veteran Marin Cilic in straight sets
For Fery however, every win is worth valuable points for a tour newbie with little to defend until next year’s Championships.
Currently in the mid-30s, should he manage to string together a handful more before the end of the season, he will be in with a strong chance of a seeded berth at next year’s Australian Open.
Great Britain will also look to benefit from Fery in form, after a strong showing against Ecuador in the Davis Cup last month booked the team’s spot in Bologna for the Final 8 in late November.
Fery and Co will face soon-to-be world No1 Alexander Zverev’s Germany for a spot in the semi-finals, with Austria, Czech Republic, Canada, Italy, South Korea and Spain rounding out the pack.
