ATP Tour

Fery, British WC, makes jaw-dropping 5-set comeback to reach Wimbledon R4

Arthur Fery’s run at Wimbledon is not only one of the best stories of the tournament, but of the entire season. Call it a Fery-tale.

The British wild card was down two sets to one and 4-1 — including a double-break deficit — in the fourth set Saturday against Zizou Bergs. The home favourite stormed back to force a decider, and then fell behind 1-4 for the second consecutive set.

But Fery kept Great Britain’s singles hopes alive at The Championships with a gripping 2-6, 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(10-5) victory in four hours and 39 minutes, advancing to the fourth round at a major for the first time.

"It's going to take definitely a while to fully process that one," Fery said. "But yeah, obviously incredibly happy and pleased to be through to the second week."

What followed was one of the most serene moments of Fery’s life. The former Stanford University standout fell to his back on the lush Wimbledon grass and lay still for nine seconds while the fans surrounding Court 18 erupted with joy.

Fery had become just the second British wild card to make the Round of 16 in men’s singles at a Grand Slam tournament, joining Andrew Foster, who advanced to the same round at SW19 in 1993.

Competing at a career-high No. 114 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Fery will shatter that mark following this fortnight. The 23-year-old is up to No. 91 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings with room to continue climbing should he battle even deeper into the draw.

"It's a really special moment. I can't really fully process it yet," Fery said. "When I'm playing this well and having these kind of results, it was only a matter of time till I broke the Top 100. It's still a significant milestone. As I said, yeah, doing it here is incredibly special for me. It's my home tournament. It's where I grew up. So yeah, it's very special."

Bergs won seven more total points in the match, and claimed a higher percentage of first-serve points (74 to 70), second-serve points (42 to 36), net points (70 to 49) and break points (62 to 56), but was unable to walk off court with the victory.

"I was just trying to back my fighting spirit and just use that to my advantage and just try and base my whole game around that. Just keep going," Fery said. "I knew that he maybe could get a little shaky when he was getting close to winning the match, as well. I don't think he's made the fourth round of a Slam, either. Yeah, [I was] just trying to keep fighting, keep calm, and just play."

Fery will next face former World No. 3 and fellow wild card Grigor Dimitrov. It will be the fourth time that two wild cards have made the Round of 16 at a Grand Slam tournament, and the first time since Roland Garros in 2002 (Arnaud Di Pasquale and Paul-Henri Mathieu).

Dimitrov outlasted Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3 in three hours and 32 minutes on Centre Court.

Fery last month reached his first ATP Tour quarter-final at Queen's Club, and is now one victory from making his maiden major quarter-final at his home Grand Slam event.