“I'm going to cherish it for the rest of my life” Fery reflects on his Centre Court debut and looks ahead to his Wimbledon quarter-final
• 4 minute read
Arthur Fery is cementing his reputation as the Comeback King after bagging another win from behind to continue the run of his life at the South London Slam.
The British No.3 was a break behind Grigor Dimitrov twice in the fourth set when he kick started the comeback in front of a high-spirited Centre Court crowd. Fery showed his belief in his game, fighting right to the end of the 10-point tie-break to secure his spot in the quarter-finals.
It’s been a week of firsts for Fery – first Grand Slam quarter-final, Centre Court debut and his performance this week has seen him rise to a career-high world No.63 in the live ATP rankings.
Fery is just the sixth British player in the Open Era to reach the men’s singles quarter-finals in SW19 (Andy Murray, Tim Henman, Cam Norrie, Roger Taylor, and Greg Rusedski). He also became the first British wild card - man or woman - to reach the quarter-finals at a Grand Slam in the Open Era.
Yesterday’s match marked the second five-set match of his career, following the mammoth third round clash against Lexus Eastbourne Open champion Zizou Bergs on Court 18 on Sunday.
When asked whether he would have believed this achievement would be possible two weeks ago, Fery shared his surprise and excitement over how the last eight days have gone.
“I wouldn’t have believed it. It was far from the realms of possible two weeks ago.
“Incredibly happy to be through to the quarters, especially in the way that the two last matches have gone – down in both, then managed to crawl my way back. Today on Centre Court in front of Roger (Federer), in front of 14,000 people – it’s incredible.”
The match was watched by a host of sporting stars in the Royal Box but front row was one of the tennis greats – Roger Federer. The eight-time Wimbledon champion was noted by the local star, who was incredible grateful for the support he received on the iconic court.
Fery grew up around the corner from the All England Club and attending The Championships throughout his youth so to now be playing on the biggest stage is a dream come true for the Brit.
“It’s incredible to be in that position where one of the greatest of all times is watching you, let alone, watching me play a five-set match against Dimitrov on Centre Court Wimbledon.”
“I had so many friends, so much family there, as well as all my team and people that I really trust in and enjoy spending time with.
“These matches are such roller coasters, as well. I'm always looking up. They're communicating to me. We're all in the match together. It's great to share those moments with them.”
It’s incredible to be in that position where one of the greatest of all times is watching you, let alone, watching me play a five-set match against Dimitrov on Centre Court Wimbledon.
The crowd certainly played their part in the fourth round clash, with chants of ‘let’s go Arthur’ ringing round the stadium in all the key moments. Fery could often be seen encouraging their support and asking for more while channelling the atmosphere into his game.
The 23-year-old revealed just how much the supporters helped him through the match against such a seasoned pro as Dimitrov.
“Especially at the end when physically I was starting to struggle (I used the crowd). I knew that when Grigor was serving to stay in the match, it would put some pressure on him as well maybe.
“But I was more doing it just for me and really getting my energy up and getting the crowd involved.
“What I experienced today personally, I'm really going to cherish it for the rest of my life. Who knows, maybe I will never, ever get to experience that ever again.
“It's the first time I'm playing on this stage. Who knows, that might be the first and last time. Hopefully not. So yeah, I'm just trying to really soak it all in and keep the memories.”
Fery stuck with the Bulgarian star throughout the match, capitalising on Dimitrov’s drop in level during key moments at the end of the fourth and fifth sets. With an occasion so big, it would be unusual not to have nerves, but as Fery settled into the match he looked right at home on the show court.
“I was nervous before the match. Obviously, the occasion and playing on Centre Court against Grigor, who's an incredible player.
“I felt like I settled in pretty fast. Felt pretty comfortable out there. Obviously, it got more and more busy as the match went on, so it didn't go from zero to a hundred straightaway, which was nice for me to settle in.”
Fery’s Wimbledon journey has been filled with battles even before his five set thrillers - the Brit fought back from a set down in his first three matches, with his resilience becoming a talking point at The Championships.
“It's always something you try to pride yourself upon, to be mentally tough. I think no one's perfect every single match. But yeah, especially these two weeks, it's come out multiple times now.
“I'm really proud of how - my behaviour on court, not complaining or not having any times of anger, but more how I'm fighting back and staying in matches.”
In Wednesday’s quarter-final, he’ll take on world No.10 Flavio Cobolli after he knocked out fifth seed Alex de Minaur in straight sets.
The pair’s only meeting came in January when Fery defeated the Italian – who then ranked 164 places higher than the Brit - in three sets to bag his first Australian Open win after qualifying for the tournament. He’ll take confidence from that win into the matchup.
“It's going to be a good match regardless. I'm expecting it to be very, very difficult and different to Australia - completely different conditions.
“I'm sure he's going to be at 100% of his capacities here, which maybe he wasn't quite 100% in Australia.
“I played really well in Australia. Felt like I dominated the match. So we'll use that experience for Wednesday.”
How to watch Arthur Fery vs Flavio Cobolli
You can watch Arthur Fery vs Flavio Cobolli in the Wimbledon men’s singles quarter-finals on the BBC, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport.
