Fery 'stands tall and takes advantage' to continue dream Wimbledon run

ByAmy Lofthouse and Emily Salley

BBC Sport journalists at Wimbledon

Just seven days ago, there was doom and gloom around the performances of British players at this year's Wimbledon.

Only four of the 19 Britons in the men's and women's singles draws made it through the first round, while both Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper were missing with injury.

Step forward, Arthur Fery.

On Monday, Fery played the match of his life to come back and beat Grigor Dimitrov in five thrilling sets to reach the quarter-finals of his home major.

Centre Court could not contain itself as Fery twice fought back from a break down in the fourth set to stun former world number three Dimitrov 7-5 3-6 4-6 6-4 7-6 (10-7)

Fery is the first wildcard and first player outside the top 100 since Nick Kyrgios in 2014 to reach the Wimbledon last eight in the men's singles.

Only once has a wildcard gone on to lift the Wimbledon trophy - and that was Goran Ivanisevic in his iconic 2001 title run.

While there would still be three matches to go to match run - starting with Wednesday's quarter-final against Italian ninth seed Flavio Cobolli - Fery will be celebrating either way on Sunday, as it is his 24th birthday.

"What I experienced today, I'm going to cherish for the rest of my life," Fery said.

"Who knows, maybe I will never get to experience that ever again. It's the first time I'm playing on this stage.

"That might be the first and last time - but hopefully not."

On 5 January, Fery retired injured in qualifying for a Challenger tournament in Canberra, on the lowest rung of the professional tour.

Twenty-six weeks later, he stood on Centre Court as a Grand Slam quarter-finalist, arms aloft as he took in the cheers of more than 14,000 people.

Fery has spent all week mounting comebacks. He lost the opening set in his first two matches before winning in four, and was two sets to one down against Belgium's Zizou Bergs in the third round.

Despite Dimitrov being the veteran - with 61 Slam appearances to Fery's eight - it was the Briton who handled the occasion better.

"If you look at the two players' careers, Dimitrov has always buckled at the big moments," former British number one Greg Rusedski said on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra.

"Fery stood tall, took advantage and said 'I'm going to find a way, I'm going to find a solution'.

"He deserves everything he got here today."

Fery grew up steeped in sport. His 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 owned Ligue 1 football club Lorient.

Born in Paris, Fery's family moved to London when he was young and he grew up close to the All England Club. As a child, he would come to the championships and pick up tips from the players.

After coming through the LTA system, Fery opted to go on a scholarship to Stanford University in California - a prestigious institution that specialises in research - and majored in science, technology and society.

The American collegiate system is a popular route for British players and its tennis scene helped shaped Fery's competitive nature.

Fery's early progress was limited by injuries, including bone bruising in his arm that left him experiencing "doubts and dark moments".

"I remember being on the practice court with him and he could only hit 80 serves in a two-hour practice," Rusedski said.

"For a two-set match, you have to hit at least 250 serves to be ready. He couldn't fulfill a full match in practice - his body and elbow wouldn't allow him."

His Slam breakthrough came at Wimbledon last year when he beat 20th seed Alexei Popyrin for his first major win, before beating Cobolli at the Australian Open.

But every player wants to make an impact at their home Slam - and now Fery has done just that.

"His life no doubt will change right now," former British number one Tim Henman said on BBC TV.

"To be a British player out on Centre Court and have that type of victory transforms his ranking going forward."

From a financial perspective, reaching the last eight means Fery will win at least £480,000 in prize money - adding to the £628,960 he had amassed in career earnings prior to Wimbledon.

Fery started the year as the world number 185. He will leave Wimbledon at worst 63rd in the rankings and will overtake Jan Choinski to become the new British number two.

Such a jump in the rankings will help him qualify automatically for the main draw of future Grand Slams, rather than relying on wildcards or going through qualifying - as he has done for all five of his appearances at majors.

"He's massively accelerated his career now," Jamie Murray, the former world number one in doubles, told BBC.

"He's going to be at all the biggest tournaments in the world and it will be much easier for him to plan his schedule.

"I think Challengers will be a thing of the past."

Recent French Open finalist and ninth seed Cobolli will be a step up in class for Fery - but he has shown a never-say-die spirit all week that will be hard to overcome

"This is a fairytale story. He is the real deal," Rusedski added.

"Let's not forget that he beat Cobolli earlier this year. The fairytale could continue."