Comeback king Arthur Fery stuns Dimitrov to reach Wimbledon quarter-finals

Good afternoon and welcome to fourth-round coverage of Arthur Fery versus Grigor Dimitrov on day eight at Wimbledon.

This is a clash between two wild cards, as Fery, the last Briton standing, goes up against the  former world No 3 and 2014 semi-finalist.

Fery’s run to his maiden grand slam fourth round has been somewhat of a fairytale. The 23-year-old, who entered the tournament ranked 114 in the world, is inside the top 100 in the live rankings (91) after registering four-set victories against Damir Dzumhur and Otto Virtanen in rounds one and two respectively. 

The epic five-set victory against Belgium’s Zizou Bergs, the Eastbourne champion, in the third round on Saturday was the biggest win of Fery’s life. Fery came back from a set down to win 2-6, 7-5, 2-6, 7-6, 7-6 in four hours and 39 minutes on Court 18. 

The court assignment for the meeting with Bergs raised eyebrows, but as Fery’s two previous wins came on the atmospheric stadium, the call made sense and ultimately paid off. Centre Court now awaits for the Briton who said “it’s time to move on” after his epic victory on Saturday. “I will keep those great memories of Court 18,” said Fery. “Playing on a bigger court will be a new experience. Now that I’ve had a few matches I feel ready for it.”

Dimitrov was also involved in a five-set epic of his own in the third round. The 35-year-old Bulgarian was up two sets against 2021 runner-up Matteo Berrettini before eventually closing out the match 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3. Dimitrov needed four sets to take down the 15th-seeded talented Czech Jakub Mensik in the second round and beat Australia’s Dane Sweeny in straights in round one.

On the prospect of facing Fery, Dimitrov said: I have seen him play. He’s a great competitor. He’s playing at home. I mean, second week, Wimbledon, big court. I can totally get it [smiling]. No, I’m going to approach this match as every other match. Nothing has changed on my side.

“I’m just really going to focus on my side of the net and what I want to be doing out there and achieving on the court. Try to find a way around that match. You know, that’s going to be for me, as I said, I have seen him play. He’s a great player. Yeah, I’m sure we are both going to be ready for that match.”