Wildcard Arthur Fery has defied the odds to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals, beating former world No 3 Grigor Dimitrov in a five-set thriller on Centre Court
Arthur Fery’s fairy tale journey at Wimbledon will continue into the tournament quarter-finals after the Brit prevailed in an epic five-set thriller against Grigor Dimitrov. The final home hope couldn’t believe that ‘the greatest of all time’ Roger Federer watched his victory.
The 23-year-old wildcard, who has been carrying British hopes in the competition following men’s No 1 Jack Draper’s injury withdrawal, secured his place in the second week of Wimbledon with a massive victory over Zizou Bergs on Saturday.
His prize was a Centre Court clash with Dimitrov, where he displayed extraordinary character to overturn a two-sets-to-one deficit and triumph in a final-set tiebreak, winning 5-7 6-3 6-4 4-6 6-7 (7-10).
Fery has won over thousands of supporters at Wimbledon with his extraordinary run and this encounter against former World No 3 Dimitrov appeared to be his toughest test yet. But in front of Wimbledon royalty in Federer, Fery produced an exceptional performance to secure the greatest victory of his burgeoning career.
He received praise from former Wimbledon favourite and British No 1 Tim Henman, who said: “An incredible performance, he’s shaking his head in disbelief about what has just happened.
“He’s been behind time and time again in this tournament but he keeps fighting.”
Fery acknowledged that battling back from difficult positions had characterised his tournament after surviving when Dimitrov was serving for the match.
“It’s been the story of the tournament for me,” he told BBC Sport. “I was really close to losing my last round as well and again today, a break down in the fourth. Just trying to keep fighting, keep having a good attitude, committing to what I’m trying to do on the court and it managed to pay off. I’m playing really well with my back against the wall and again it paid off today.”
He went on to say: “I grew up five minutes from here, I grew up coming to watch matches on this court. We’ve got probably the greatest of all time watching in the front row. I saw him. And now playing here in front of all you guys, having the support and winning. It’s unbelievable.”
“When I switched the TV on in the changing rooms for the first match [on Centre Court today], the women’s match, I saw Roger was in the Royal Box. I didn’t know he was coming,” Fery added.
“I sent a message to my team saying, ‘Roger’s in the box, I’m pretty tight’.
“It’s incredible to be in that position where one of the greatest of all time is watching you, let alone watching me play a five-set match against Dimitrov on Centre Court, Wimbledon.”
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