ATP Tour

WC Fery continues fairytale run, stuns Dimitrov to make Wimbledon QF

The Fery-tale is not over yet.

Arthur Fery kept alive his dream Wimbledon run on Monday when he rallied past former World No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(10-7) for a place in the quarter-finals.

“I have no words right now. I'll do my best, but it's incredibly tough to put words to what I've just felt on a tennis court in front of all you guys,” Fery said. “The support was phenomenal.”

Entering the tournament, the 23-year-old owned just a 2-4 record in Grand Slam main draws and a 1-3 mark at Wimbledon. But the former Stanford University standout has not shown any fear of the moment, winning back-to-back thrilling final-set tie-breaks to capture the hearts of the British public.

In the third round against Zizou Bergs, Fery trailed by two sets to one and a double break in the fourth set, then a break in the deciding set before prevailing. Against Dimitrov, the Briton was again down two sets to one and fell behind by a break on two separate occasions in the fourth set before persevering to win another fifth set.

“It’s been the story of the tournament for me. I was really close to losing my last round as well, and again today, a break down in the fourth," Fery said. "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.”

Competing as the No. 114 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, Fery has completely changed his career trajectory this fortnight. By advancing to the quarter-finals, he is up to No. 63 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings with room to continue climbing should he navigate deeper into the draw.

In the next round, Fery will take on Roland Garros finalist Flavio Cobolli, after the ninth seed ousted fifth seed Alex de Minaur 7-5, 7-6(4), 6-3 earlier in the day. Before this fortnight, Fery had only won one main draw match at a major away from SW19, and that came in straight sets earlier this year against Cobolli at the Australian Open.

Wild cards to reach Wimbledon quarter-finals (Open Era)

One year on from a gut-wrenching retirement in the fourth round while up two sets against eventual champion Jannik Sinner, Dimitrov was back in form, using his all-court game to play sublime tennis on Centre Court.

The 2017 Nitto ATP Finals champion was using his knifing slice to try to draw Fery out of position and frequented the net, venturing forward 62 times and winning 74 per cent of those points. But the home favourite never panicked and showed great composure under pressure.

Fery was down a mini break, 4/5, but won six of the final eight points to triumph in three hours and 55 minutes.

“First time on this court, five sets against an absolute legend of the game. I grew up five minutes from here. I grew up coming to watch matches on this court,” Fery said. “We've got probably the greatest of all time watching in the front over there. I saw him. And now playing here in front of all you guys, having the support and winning. I mean, yeah, it's unbelievable.”

The Briton was referring to Roger Federer, who was in the Royal Box. The Swiss has long been friends with Dimitrov, but also has a connection to Stanford. His agent's son, Nicholas Godsick, will begin his senior year at the school in a couple of months.

Fery became just the fifth wild card in the Open Era to reach the men’s singles quarter-finals at Wimbledon, joining a list that includes eventual Wimbledon champions Pat Cash and Goran Ivanisevic, ATP No. 1 Club member Juan Carlos Ferrero and 2022 finalist Nick Kyrgios.

"Couldn't have imagined it. A week ago, I would have been happy to win a few matches here," Fery said. "And now winning four matches, being in the quarters, it's a dream of mine."