Fery

Fery achieved his latest, most impressive win to date in a style at complete odds with the journey that had taken him there.

He dropped the opening set in his first two matches and then required match tie-breaks to overcome Zizou Bergs and Grigor Dimitrov in five-set thrillers.

Having twice been a set and a break down against Bergs in the third round – including going 4-1 down in the fifth set – he also had to take three medical timeouts after suffering a nosebleed.

Making his first appearance on Centre Court, he twice went a break down in a must-win fourth set against Dimitrov, before the 35-year-old Bulgarian’s own nerves appeared and Fery capitalised.

But, at two hours and 14 minutes, his match against Cobolli was his shortest of the tournament so far.

Fery has spent 16 hours and 20 minutes on court in total – his match against Bergs lasted four hours and 39 minutes alone – yet he showed no sign of fatigue against his Italian opponent.

Roared on throughout by a partisan crowd, Fery demonstrated unshakeable composure as he picked apart the below-par Cobolli, who lost June’s French Open final to Alexander Zverev in five sets and made the last eight at Wimbledon last year.

“What I’ve been so impressed with is Fery’s belief,” added former British number one Tim Henman.

“When you go out on Centre Court for the first time and you are a British player, you have the hopes and expectations of a lot of people on your shoulders.

“He has good tennis IQ, he is a phenomenal mover. The way he has handled the occasion is impeccable. When opportunities have been earned, he has taken them.

“For him to produce a performance like that against a Grand Slam finalist, given that the first two sets were so tight and such high quality, it was absolutely sensational.

“It will just go even further to enhance his inner belief that he can keep winning in this tournament.”

British wildcard Arthur Fery beat Zizou Bergs in a five-set thriller to reach the Wimbledon fourth round and keep home singles hopes alive – despite suffering three nosebleeds during the match.

Wildcard Fery recovered twice from falling a set and a break down to come through 2-6 7-5 2-6 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (10-5) in front of a packed crowd on court 18.

Fery was outside the world’s top 100 at the start of the championships but played above his ranking to become sole home player to reach the singles third round.

After fighting back to beat Bosnia’s Damir Dzumhur and Finland’s Otto Virtanen in his first two matches, it seemed as though Fery had finally run out of steam against Belgium’s Bergs.

But the 23-year-old held his nerve and then rallied to become the first British wildcard to reach the Wimbledon fourth round since 1993.

“No words for it, honestly,” Fery said after throwing himself to the floor in celebration.

“I don’t know what is going on right now. It will take time to digest it.”

Fery will face Italy’s Matteo Berrettini or Grigor Dimitrov next.

Arthur Fery grew up just a short walk away from Wimbledon but there is much more to his story than simply the confines of SW19.

The British men’s number three was born near Paris to his French parents before the family moved to Wimbledon when he was still in nappies.

After coming through the Lawn Tennis Association system, the 23-year-old then moved to Stanford University in California to study for a degree in science, technology and society – and sharpen his game in a tennis scholarship.

Now Fery is back on his doorstep and enjoying the biggest success of his career.

The world number 114 is left carrying British hopes at the All England Club this year after becoming the sole home player to reach the third round of the singles.

“I grew up coming to the tournament, watching the players and that definitely contributed to my development,” Fery told BBC Sport.

“I was trying to imitate players – like you do when you’re a kid. Now I’m here winning matches. It’s awesome.”

Fery’s mother, Olivia, is a French former Fed Cup player, who used to work for the LTA as a business development manager, while father Loic is an asset manager who owns Ligue 1 football club Lorient.

Many summer holidays were spent at the family’s second home near La Rochelle on the west coast of France, while he also spent time with other relatives near Nice – an area packed with courts and academies – to hone his tennis talent.

Fery briefly represented France when he was about 10 before starting to play for Britain shortly after.

After that, he says, there was “no question” that he would go on to represent Britain in the professional ranks.

“By that point, there was really no decision to make. I was living here, I was training at the National Tennis Centre. I was in the system here,” he said.

“I feel completely British now. Maybe 10 years ago if you’d asked me the question, it would be a bit different. Now I feel very British at heart.”

Fery may not be well-known outside of British tennis circles but sport is a huge part of his family life – his mother, Olivia, was a professional player, while father Loic owns Ligue 1 football club Lorient.

As a teenager, Fery opted to go on a scholarship to Stanford University in California and also played collegiate tennis.

He lost just two games in his opening-round win over compatriot Toby Samuel at Queen’s, before recording what he described as the “best result” of his career against veteran Frenchman Mannarino.

He and Cerundolo both made nervous starts, with numerous break point opportunities, but Fery broke to serve for the set at 5-4.

However, Cerundolo won the next three games and dominated the tie-break, with the only point Fery won in it coming from a double fault from his opponent.

Cerundolo broke to start the second set but took a painful hit at the net when Fery accidentally sent a volley straight into his throat.

The Argentine fell to the floor, with Fery hopping over the net to check on him – and the pair shared a wry smile as on the next point, Cerundolo came close to hitting Fery with a passing winner.

But from that moment on, Cerundolo’s serve disappeared, and Fery restored parity before breaking to serve for the set.

A lovely serve and volley from Fery to force the deciding set established the tone, and a horrible double fault from Cerundolo handed the Briton the early initiative.

Cerundolo’s experience showed, though, as he put enough pressure on his opponents’ forehand to first break back and then secure victory on Fery’s serve.