Home support, breaking top 100 & fighting spirit – Arthur Fery on reaching fourth round at Wimbledon
• 3 minute read
For many tennis players, coming back from 4-1 down twice in one match would be a huge ask, but not for Britain’s Arthur Fery who fought back from the brink of defeat to reach the last 16 at his home Grand Slam.
The 23-year-old had to overcome plenty of obstacles to reach the fourth round. On a blisteringly hot Saturday afternoon in south-west London, Fery battled through three nosebleeds and mounted a remarkable comeback, overturning a 4-1 deficit in both the fourth and fifth sets before defeating Belgium's Zizou Bergs in a match-deciding tie-break.
It was a win that sent the swarm of British fans packed inside Court 18 at the All England Club and all around the court into roars of celebrations as Fery - the last Brit standing in the singles draw - kept his Wimbledon dream alive.
The victory brought plenty of ‘firsts’ for the British wild card - his first five-set match, a first fourth round appearance at a major and a breakthrough into the world’s top 100, with the rising star currently ranked world No.91 in the ATP live rankings.
While these are all significant milestones in themselves, it means even more for the Wimbledon-local who grew up just a stone's throw away from the All England Club.
“I’m just so proud of how I handled everything,” Fery reflected on his third round win over Bergs. “I was just trying to back my fighting spirit and use that to my advantage.
“First five-setter, longest match that I've ever played, first time breaking into the top 100, first second week in a slam - all at home, five minutes from where I grew up. It's a great story for me.
“It's a really special moment, I can't really fully process it yet. When I'm playing this well and having these kind of results, it was only a matter of time till I broke the top 100. It's still a significant milestone and doing it here is incredibly special for me. It's my home tournament. It's where I grew up, so it's very special.”
For the Stanford University graduate, this is the latest milestone in what has been a remarkable season so far.
Fery began the season by qualifying for the main draw at the Australian Open before recording the biggest win of his career by defeating 20th seed Flavio Cobolli in the first round.
Since then, he’s gone on to qualify for the Masters 1000 event at the Miami Open, and enjoyed several strong results on British soil this summer - including reaching his first ATP 500 quarter-final at the HSBC Championships.
It's still a significant milestone and doing it here is incredibly special for me. It's my home tournament. It's where I grew up, so it's very special.
When asked what he thinks has been the difference between his preparations heading into Wimbledon this year, compared to last, the British No.3 added, “I think the obvious one is that I've played a lot of grass court matches leading up to Wimbledon this year. That definitely helps with confidence, with match fitness, with everything.
“I've also been playing a lot this year, got a lot of wins under the belt and that really helps. I felt confident here even before my first round. My ranking was higher, so that helped with me feeling in my place.”
Fery has become extremely familiar with the unique experience that comes with Court 18 but with a blockbuster meeting against fellow wild card and former world No.3 Grigor Dimitrov awaiting him next, we can expect the Brit in action on one of the main show courts for his fourth round clash.
That brings a new layer of expectation for the Wimbledon local, who is set to compete in front of the biggest crowd of his career.
However, with Fery fuelled with confidence and in the form of his life, he’ll be eager to draw on the energy from the home crowd and use it to his advantage against the experienced Bulgarian.
“Obviously, it's unbelievable to have support, it definitely helps me. Clearly at the end of the fifth (set in his third round match), the crowd played a huge part in that.
“I was really, really grateful to have them behind me. I'm not the kind of player to interact with the crowd too much during the match. I try to stay collected inside, which sometimes is tricky enough as it is. If I start giving too much energy out, then it's going to affect my tennis.
“Playing on a bigger court, obviously it's going to be, not a new experience, but a great experience that I'm looking forward to. There's obviously pressure associated with it but I've now already played a few matches in front of big crowds. I feel ready for it.”
Fery will return on Monday 6 July to face Dimitrov for a place in his first Grand Slam quarter-final.
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