Arthur Fery is the name on everybody’s lips at Wimbledon. The 23-year-old entered The Championships as a wild card ranked 114th in the world with virtually no profile.
The French-born Brit started to turn heads when he kept on winning while so many other UK players lost or pulled out. In fact, many called it Wimbledon’s worst ever opening day for Brits with Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu both dropping out due to injury.
The SW19 crowds then fell in love with ‘last Brit standing’ Fery and came to his aide during the tougher periods of his battle with Zizou Bergs who he managed to overcome in a fifth set tie breaker.
But it was after beating ninth seed Flavio Cobolli in a convincing straight sets win on Centre Court that the nation really started to believe in the plucky 5’9” Wimbledon local– even Queen Camila personally urged him to “keep going”.
Fery is seeing off some of the best players in the world because of his speed in and out of the corners, court intelligence and exceptional hand skills. But that isn’t what is going to make him a tennis superstar.
After seeing Fery beat Cobolli and field questions from the press minutes later, I believe his ability to hold his composure and deliver outstanding performances under massive pressure is what will make him a huge name.
Despite his match against Cobolli being his debut on Centre Court, Fery looked like he was going to win as soon as he walked out. And when he needed a boost, he was not afraid to set the crowd off with some emphatic “come on” cheers.
Fery knew he could beat Cobolli after defeating him earlier this year but doing it in a Wimbledon quarter final is a different beast.
And his talents aren’t limited to the court. Minutes after beating Cobolli, Fery was sitting in front of sports best journalists, who were shocked at how relaxed he was about everything.
When asked about reaching the semi finals, without missing a beat Fery said: “I always believed I could be a top player in the world. I am taking it match by match and here I am.”
He also knows how to keep the British media happy. When asked if he is French, Fery said: “I feel very British. I live here and all my best friends live here. Mr roots are very much tied to London.”