ATP Tour

Wimbledon hero Fery keeps flying, reaches Winston-Salem QFs

Arthur Fery has enjoyed a standout few months, with his latest chapter unfolding at the Winston-Salem Open.

The Briton on Wednesday reached his third tour-level quarter-final — all since mid-June — and first on hard courts with a 6-3, 6-3 victory against 19-year-old Mees Rottgering.

Fery went on a fairytale semi-final run last month at Wimbledon as the No. 114 player in the PIF ATP Rankings. After a dream fortnight at his home tournament, Fery propelled to a career-high World No. 36. Fery, who also reached the last eight at Queen’s Club, next meets Aleksandar Kovacevic at the ATP 250 in North Carolina.

“It wasn’t an easy match,” said the fourth-seeded Fery after defeating Rottgering, a sophomore at Wake Forest University, the host site of the Winston-Salem Open. “I was ready for a battle, and it was. I’m really happy that I got it done in two sets.

“I’ve played a lot of matches in the past few months and [my] body feels great. I feel fit and strong out there. With the US Open next week, I’m really happy to get a few more matches in here.’

Kovacevic toppled seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-6(1) to level their Lexus ATP Head2Head series at 1-1. Kovacevic, 27, is into his third tour-level quarter-final of the season (Brisbane, Hamburg).

Second seed Luciano Darderi was upset by Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp, who raced past the Italian 6-1, 6-0 in one hour and eight minutes. Now, the highest remaining seed is third seed Ignacio Buse. The Peruvian overcame Daniel Altmaier 7-6(5), 7-5.

Fabian Marozsan, seeded 15th, overcame Martin Damm 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 to earn his 50th tour-level hard-court win. Benjamin Bonzi advanced with a convincing 6-1, 6-1 victory over Rinky Hijikata.