Roger Federer sat forward in the Royal Box, the great Swiss watching from Centre Court as a British wildcard he had never seen before rewrote the script of a tournament that had lost nearly all its home hope. Arthur Fery, a 23-year-old ranked 114th in the world and a 400-1 outsider at the start of the fortnight, stood with his hands on his hips, shaking his head in sheer disbelief after defeating Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10-7) in three hours and 55 minutes to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals — the first British wildcard ever to reach a grand slam last eight.
Fery, making his debut on Wimbledon’s biggest stage a short walk from where he grew up, had already come from a break down in the fourth set, saving himself twice, before clinching a deciding 10-point tie-break that left the Centre Court crowd roaring. Dimitrov, a former world No 3 who last year retired injured while leading eventual champion Jannik Sinner by two sets on this exact court, could not finish the job despite twice leading in the fourth set. Fery, the only British player left in either singles draw after 15 first-round exits and injures to Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper, refused to buckle.
“British wildcard Arthur Fery beats Grigor Dimitrov in five sets to reach Wimbledon quarter-finals, making history.”
“I couldn’t have imagined it,” Fery said. “A week ago I would have been happy to win a few matches here. To win four and be in the quarter-finals, it’s a dream.” The world No 114 had never previously gone beyond the second round at a major, yet he has now won two matches in a row from two sets to one down. Tim Henman, watching courtside, called it “an incredible performance.” Fery admitted his tournament has been defined by fighting with his back against the wall: “Just trying to keep fighting, have a good attitude and it paid off.”
Fery becomes the sixth British man in the Open era to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals — after Andy Murray, Tim Henman, Cameron Norrie, Roger Taylor and Greg Rusedski — and the first player ranked outside the top 100 to reach the men’s last eight here since Nick Kyrgios in 2014. He also earned £480,000 in prize money, taking his career earnings past £1m.
On Wednesday, Fery will face Flavio Cobolli, the Italian ninth seed and French Open runner-up who earlier beat Alex de Minaur in straight sets. There is a twist: Fery beat Cobolli in straight sets at this year’s Australian Open when the Italian was struggling with a stomach bug. But this time the stage is far grander. “I grew up five minutes from here,” Fery said. “We’ve got probably the greatest of all time watching in the front row. Now playing here in front of all you guys, having the support and winning. It’s unbelievable.”
The last time Fery was on Centre Court was as a fan watching the 2014 final between Federer and Novak Djokovic. This time, he was the one captivating the crowd — and there is no sign the fairytale is ending yet.