All England Club: British wildcard Arthur Fery was in a mixed state of elation, disbelief, and exhaustion as he made a historic run to the fourth round at Wimbledon, becoming the first homegrown star to reach the second week at the All-England Club in recent years with a thrilling victory over Zizou Bergs.
Fery reached the fourth round of the grass court Grand Slam by beating Bergs 2-6, 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(3), 7-6 (5) in four hours and 38 minutes, sealing a thrilling victory that left him with no words to describe his feelings.
“There’s no words for it, honestly,” he said. “I don’t know what’s going on right now. It’s going to take some time to really digest it. And I’m just so glad.
“I was just trying to stay in the match, backing myself as a competitor. I was down pretty much for the whole match, and I managed to scramble back from two breaks down in the fourth and fifth sets. I tried to be as good a fighter as I could and let the rest happen.”
Of all the British players who lined up on the first day of The Championships, Fery was not the one tipped for a place in the fourth round. Indeed, three-and-a-half sets into his match with Bergs, he still was not the favourite, the ATP Tour said in a report on Saturday.
Yet as the rest withdrew injured or fell by the wayside in the first couple of rounds, Fery – a wild card entry – battled on. And on Saturday evening, he overcame three nosebleeds, the Belgian world No.37, and the expectations of a packed Court 18 to beat the Eastbourne champion.
Fery had made a difficult start, taking seven minutes to hang on to his serve in the opening game. He was broken two games later, and then, just when he was about to serve again at 3-1 down, he had to seek medical attention to stop his first nosebleed. While he tried to recoup, Bergs ran away with the set.
But Fery did not lose heart. The man from Wimbledon who grew up just a few minutes’ walk from the All England Club fought his way back into the match, banking on his tremendous self-belief and confidence.
Standing 5ft 9in in a locker room of giants, Briton’s No.3 could be at something of a disadvantage. Certainly, the 6ft 1in Bergs was hitting the ball harder and serving with greater power than Fery, but there is more to the sport than brute force (Bergs also has lovely touch with a volley).
“Tennis is a sport where I think everyone, like all heights, can thrive in a certain way,” Fery was quoted as saying by the ATP Tour in a report on its website. “I try to return with very good quality and move better than guys who are taller. My returning is a strength, my movement, just general court craft.”
As for being the last British player left standing, that did not bother him in the slightest, the report said. “There's no pressure attached to it,” he shrugged. “I play for myself. Yeah, I want to win just for myself. If there are other Brits as well in the third round, it's awesome.”
After the one-sided opening set, Fery’s coach, Jeroen Benard, shouted some instructions: “Serve for the forehand. Serve for your next shot. Don’t serve for the ace. Come on: legs.”
Fery then opened the second set with a hold game, had his first break point in the next, and even if he dropped serve in the third game, he broke straight back in the fourth. As they chased each other to the sharp end of the set, that is when Berg's serve let him down.
In the first set, the Belgian had pushed Fery around, never giving the Briton a chance. Now, his ball toss had gone walkabout, he was giving Fery a few looks at second serves, and then, as he served to stay in the set, he offered up a double fault on set point. The last Briton standing was standing a little taller at a set apiece.
A deep breath, a settling of the shoulders, and Bergs was ready to begin again. He had been in charge an hour ago; he could be in charge again. And he was by dint of cutting out the errors and playing to his strengths. Fery was more involved in the rallies than in the first set, but the result was just the same.
The fourth set seemed to be following the exact same pattern until, from two breaks to the good, he looked up and saw the finish line. His serve and forehand fell to pieces, and Fery got his two breaks back and was heading for the fifth set.
That was when everything stopped again. Bergs called for the trainer to have his foot attended to, and as Fery sat and waited, his nose started to bleed once more. By the time both men were passed fit to resume, more than 14 minutes had passed since the last point.
The fourth set seemed to be following the exact same pattern until, from two breaks to the good, he looked up and saw the finish line. His serve and forehand fell to pieces, and Fery got his two breaks back and was heading for the fifth set.
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He has reached the second week of Wimbledon and will now climb into the top 100.