Arthur Fery gave Wimbledon its wild-card roar of the weekend, saving Britain’s singles hopes with a five-set comeback that turned Court 18 into a pressure cooker.
The 23-year-old British wild card beat Zizou Bergs 2-6, 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(10-5) on Saturday after four hours and 39 minutes, reaching the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time.
The match looked almost gone more than once. Fery trailed by two sets to one and 4-1 in the fourth set, facing a double-break deficit. He then slipped 4-1 behind again in the deciding set before dragging the contest into a final tie-break.
When the last point was won, Fery fell flat on the grass and stayed there as the crowd exploded around him.
“It’s going to take definitely a while to fully process that one,” Fery said. “But yeah, obviously incredibly happy and pleased to be through to the second week.”
The result changes the picture for the home crowd. Fery became only the second British wild card to reach the men’s singles fourth round at a Grand Slam, joining Andrew Foster, who did it at Wimbledon in 1993.
Fery entered the tournament at a career-high No. 114 in the ATP rankings and is up to No. 91 in the live rankings after his run. “Doing it here is incredibly special for me,” he said. “It’s my home tournament. It’s where I grew up.”
The pressure is now on in a fourth-round meeting loaded with storyline. Fery will face fellow wild card Grigor Dimitrov, who beat Matteo Berrettini in five sets on Centre Court.
It will be only the fourth time two wild cards have met in the last 16 at a Grand Slam. The sports world is watching what happens next.
