GB’s Fery qualifies for first overseas Grand Slam

Britain’s Arthur Fery qualified for his first overseas Grand Slam by beating Dino Prizmic in front of a raucous crowd to reach the Australian Open main draw.

World number 185 Fery saw off the Croat – who is ranked 58 places above him – and his enthusiastic supporters 6-4 6-1.

The 23-year-old’s previous three Grand Slam appearances have all been at Wimbledon.

“It was getting a bit feisty today in the crowd,” Fery, who has yet to discover his first-round opponent, said.

“If the comments start getting a little bit disrespectful then it’s not great but in general it’s good to have people watching.

“I’m used to it – I played US college and I was actually very happy with how I dealt with it today because it could have got to me.”

Fery attended Stanford University and claimed his first major match win at Wimbledon last year, beating 20th seed Alexei Popyrin in four sets.

He previously struggled with bone bruising in his upper arm – the same injury that has sidelined British number one Jack Draper for four months.

“It was a big milestone for me to play Slams on my own ranking and having qualified brings a lot of joy to me and pride,” Fery added.

“I know I have it in me to play really good tennis, it’s just a matter of staying healthy and delivering on the court.”

George Loffhagen was unable to join Fery in the main draw, losing 5-7 6-4 6-4 to American Nishesh Basavareddy.

Fery joins Cameron Norrie and Jacob Fearnley in the men’s main singles draw, while Emma Raducanu, Francesca Jones, Sonay Kartal and Katie Boulter are in the women’s.