'I love playing on the big stage' – Britain's Fery causes another Slam shock
British qualifier Arthur Fery claims another notable Grand Slam scalp by beating Italian 20th seed Flavio Cobolli for the first shock at the Australian Open.
British qualifier Arthur Fery claims another notable Grand Slam scalp by beating Italian 20th seed Flavio Cobolli for the first shock at the Australian Open.
Michael Zheng will take five courses this spring semester at Columbia University in New York, where he is a senior. The 21-year-old is soon to graduate from the Ivy League institution, one of the most prestigious schools in the world.
But even though school begins on 20 January, that will not be his focus this week. Instead, the student-athlete is on the other side of the world competing in a major main draw for the first time at the Australian Open.
“Right now, I’m really excited,” Zheng, a qualifier, told ATPTour.com. “And relieved to get through that and get the chance to play my first main draw.”
A year ago, that was more than improbable. Zheng was the reigning NCAA men’s singles champion, but still outside the Top 700 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Yet he has balanced a rigorous education — earning Academic All-American honours as well as the Rafael Osuna National Sportsmanship Award in 2025 — and college tennis with proving he can compete with the best players in the world.
Zheng has long shown ability, dating back to when his father, Joe, decided to introduce Michael and his older sister by two years, Amy, to the sport at their local high school. Joe, who moved to the United States from China, fell in love with the sport upon his arrival and passed it along to his children.
Growing up in New Jersey, Zheng spent three days a week during middle school training at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, home of the US Open. And by the end of his junior career, the American reached the 2022 Wimbledon boys’ singles final, beating Coleman Wong and Martin Landaluce along the way.
“I had some talent, so he wanted to see how far he could take it,” Zheng said of his father. “And now we’re here playing my first main draw [of a major]. It’s been quite a tournament.”
But it has been an atypical one. Zheng is an active college student who in the coming days has to prepare for psychology courses in the New York winter. Instead, he is heating up in the Australian summer. The humble student does not make a big deal of it, but Ivy League coursework is difficult enough on its own.
“The academic rigour has helped Michael in many ways, especially mentally,” said Howard Endelman, the head coach of men’s tennis at Columbia. “The schoolwork is complementary; It allows Michael to focus and develop aspects of his life outside of tennis. Although it might be counter-intuitive, this combination has helped Michael develop as a complete person which has actually helped his tennis.”
According to Zheng, Endelman emphasises this message consistently.
“You learn how to manage your time and in the pressure moments, I think you can manage a little bit better, because you put all that work in and at the same time, you’re balancing school,” Zheng said. “I think it just gives you that little bit of a mental edge, that you’re doing maybe a little bit more than these other guys, and at the same time, your level is there.”
[NO 1 CLUB]What makes his moment in the spotlight Sunday against Sebastian Korda at Melbourne Park more impressive is how he got there. Not only did he work his way through a tough qualifying draw, but made a big run to earn his place in qualifying in the first place.
In early June, Zheng was still outside the world’s Top 700. But a run to the ATP Challenger final in Little Rock began a huge surge, with titles in Chicago, Columbus and Tiburon showing it was no fluke.
“Right after winning the Tiburon Challenger final in October, Michael took a Sunday night red-eye flight so he could take an in-person exam Monday morning in New York City,” Endelman said. “He just takes it all in stride.”
The latter two tournament victories came while Zheng was taking five classes, before successfully defending his NCAA singles crown.
“Definitely not easy. At the same time, I think people tend to overestimate the studies. I think you can make it as hard or as easy as you want it to be,” Zheng, a Psychology major, said. “I’m travelling, missing quite a bit of class, so I’m not going to do anything too crazy, like neuroscience, biology or something like that. But at the same time, you can sign up for whatever classes you want to take.”
Entering college, Zheng had not planned to study psychology, but economics. The 21-year-old has found it interesting, even if he does not believe that there is a firm link between his studies and psychology on the tennis court.
Zheng’s memorable run nearly came to an end in the final round of qualifying against Lukas Klein, against whom he faced a match point in the final-set tie-break. But the Columbia Lion dealt with that pressure the same way he does school: successfully.
“Nothing seems to bother Michael — on or off the court — especially when things go wrong,” Endelman said. “Michael lost the lead after being up 7/1 and 9/7 in the final-set tiebreaker, then all of a sudden was serving down 9/10. With no emotion, he calmly goes up to the line and saves match point with an ace wide.”
Although Zheng’s tennis career is only beginning, the future is bright both on and off the court for the college standout. But the World No. 174 is not too concerned about what will come with his Psychology degree at the moment.
“I’m not thinking too longterm right now,” Zheng said. “I’m just focussing on seeing how far I can take the tennis and giving 100 per cent focus on that at least.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Andre Agassi may have finished his running for the night, but he was still in full analyst mode after sharing the court with fellow ATP No. 1 Club Members Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt at the Australian Open on Saturday evening.
Following an entertaining exhibition doubles clash alongside Federer, Hewitt and Patrick Rafter, Agassi spoke with Jim Courier about what made Hewitt and Federer so difficult to face during their time at the top of the game.
“Every No. 1 player in the world brings something so unique to the game,” Agassi said, nodding toward Hewitt. “I watched Lleyton do it. He turned a transition game phenomenally. He turned defence into offense. We saw fast players that stayed on defence.”
Agassi and Hewitt split their Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry at 4–4, with all eight meetings coming on hard courts. The American, however, trailed Federer 3–8, and his tone shifted noticeably when reflecting on the Swiss great.
[NO 1 CLUB]“Then all of a sudden you play this guy Roger Federer and it was like time stood still,” Agassi said. “You hit the ball and it leaves your racquet exactly how you want it, yet he has all the time in the world. You couldn’t commit because he could change pace or direction. He could move you north and south, east and west. I knew I was facing the efforts of the next generation.”
Federer went on to spend a record 310 weeks as the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, including 237 consecutively. Hewitt held top spot for 80 weeks, last occupying the position in June 2003, while Agassi spent 101 weeks as the World’s No. 1, briefly reclaiming the spot from Hewitt during that era.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Tennis players might be considered super-human but they suffer with jetlag like the rest of us – particularly when they travel to the Australian Open.
Matteo Berrettini has withdrawn from the Australian Open. The Italian announced the news on Saturday.
“I’m really sorry to have to withdraw from the tournament,” Berrettini said. “I have always enjoyed being and playing here and feeling your incredible support. Thank you to the tournament for their fantastic organisation and I hope to see all of you again very soon.”
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The former No. 6 player in the PIF ATP Rankings was scheduled to face sixth-seeded Australian Alex de Minaur in the first round but will now be replaced in the draw by Mackenzie McDonald. Berrettini reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open in 2022.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Roger Federer, Andre Agassi, Lleyton Hewitt, Patrick Rafter and Ashleigh Barty put on a show Saturday night at the Australian Open, where they shared laughs during a fun exhibition doubles during the opening ceremony.
Under the lights on Rod Laver Arena, the crowd settled in when the four ATP No. 1 Club Members walked out together and then rose again when Rod Laver arrived to conduct the coin toss.
Six-time AO champion Federer quickly set the mood for the evening when he took the microphone and greeted the crowd as if he had never left: “I have missed you and it is great to be back. It’s just where we left off, so many memories and nice to dive back into it.”
Hewitt was already bouncing on his toes, Rafter looked relaxed and Agassi scanned the arena calmly before play began.
<img alt=”Roger Federer/Andre Agassi” src=”/-/media/images/news/2026/01/17/10/17/fed-agassi-2026-ao.jpg” />
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Hewitt opened on serve and it didn’t take long for the crowd to cheer. Federer framed a forehand lob that somehow dropped in for a winner over Rafter, drawing laughs from all four players and a shake of the head from Hewitt.
As the match went on, the contrast in styles was clear. Agassi joked about staying behind the baseline, while Rafter did everything he could to avoid hitting a forehand. Played in a first-to-four format, the first two sets moved quickly, with the match level at 4-2, 2-4, with the Australians winning the first set.
<img alt=”Roger Federer/Lleyton Hewitt/Patrick Rafter” src=”/-/media/images/news/2026/01/17/10/18/fed-hew-ao-2026.jpg” />
Photo Credit: Getty Images
With a third set left to decide the clash, Barty arrived on court to replace Agassi. The former World No. 1 won the Australian Open trophy in 2022 before retiring and received huge cheers on her return. Barty quickly found her rhythm from the baseline, with her and Federer earning a 4-2 victory in the third set in front of record-time 10 champion Novak Djokovic, who was watching courtside.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
“It was beautiful,” Federer said after. “It was fantastic. I couldn’t be any happier. Just being back in Melbourne with my friends, legends, rivals, is always a thrill. I am a big historian of the game and looked back at who has paved the way for us and this is a beautiful moment for tennis and obviously I am looking forward to the Australian Open.”
Agassi won the AO on four occasions, while Hewitt reached the title match in 2005. Rafter’s best result came in 2001 when he advanced to the semi-finals. The Australian Open starts on Sunday, with Carlos Alcaraz in action. Jannik Sinner is the two-time defending champion.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Novak Djokovic says the upcoming Australian Open is not “now or never” for his hopes of winning a standalone all-time record 25th Grand Slam title.
While players are used to short turnarounds, Emma Raducanu questions the logic of her Australian Open first-round match being played on Sunday night in Melbourne.
Russian-born Daria Kasatkina says she can “finally breathe” as she prepares for her first Australian Open as a home player.
Gabriel Diallo has not practised with or competed against World No. 3 Alexander Zverev, who has been a presence at the top of the ATP Tour since before the Canadian was in college. But the 24-year-old is flying higher than ever and excited to step on the court inside Rod Laver Arena Sunday to take on the two-time Nitto ATP Finals champion.
“I’m very grateful that I’m in this position to play in a Slam, one of the biggest courts against one of the best players in the world. So it’s all a bonus,” Diallo told ATPTour.com. “We train hard and we work hard to position ourselves to play in those kind of matches. We start playing tennis, to play those kind of matches. So I’m really excited and looking forward to playing.”
One year ago, Zverev made the final at Melbourne Park for the first time after reaching the semi-finals on two previous occasions. The German has failed to reach the fourth round just once since 2019.
“He’s very consistent. First of all, just from the back and in terms of a performance standpoint, he’s been in the Top 10 for I don’t know how many years. And then, obviously in terms of his game, he’s got a great serve, great backhand, solid forehand,” Diallo said. “So I’m going to have to get creative. I’m going to have to take it to him if I want to give myself some chances to win. At the end of the day, I think for me it’s another match, it’s another learning experience.”
Diallo is currently doing plenty of learning. He split with longtime coach Martin Laurendeau and began working with Jonas Bjorkman and Johan Ortegren.
“I’ve got the full Swedish delegation now,” Diallo said, cracking a laugh. “I’m excited to see where that’s going to take me, and very grateful for the past five years I had with Marty. We had an amazing run since I was in college, all the way to now. Someone that will always stay very close to me and that has a special place in my heart.”
[NO 1 CLUB]While Ortegren was also a professional tennis player, Bjorkman stands out for his efforts reaching No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings and No. 1 in doubles.
“It’s been very good. He just came to Adelaide, so it was the first time I saw him there. But yeah, so far it’s been very good. Learning a lot,” Diallo said. “He has a lot of expertise and as a player, he was where I aspire to be. So just a great opportunity to learn from him and work with him and excited to see where it’s going to take me.”
The World No. 1 is on a good path. A year ago he was No. 86 and competing in the Australian Open main draw for the first time. Now Diallo is one of the most dangerous unseeded players in Melbourne, fresh off a season in which he lifted the trophy in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and made his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final in Madrid.
“The goal was to finish inside the Top 50, and I managed to accomplish that. I had some very good results. Won my first title, big quarters in the Masters,” Diallo said. “So just [want to] keep building on this, carrying this momentum throughout 2026, keep improving. We flagged the things that I need to improve in order to make the next jump and the details and the margins are getting smaller and smaller, but those are the things that are going to make a big difference.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]