Arthur Fery beat Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 on Monday to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals, completing a comeback on Centre Court that left more than 14,000 spectators on their feet, according to the BBC.
Fery, a wildcard ranked outside the top 100, twice fought back from a break down in the fourth set before winning a tiebreak in the fifth. He is the first wildcard and the first player outside the top 100 to reach the Wimbledon men's quarterfinals since Nick Kyrgios did it in 2014. The only wildcard to ever win the Wimbledon title was Goran Ivanisevic in 2001.
The result came just six months after Fery retired injured in qualifying for a Challenger tournament in Canberra, the lowest rung of the professional tour. That was on January 5. He stood on Centre Court as a Grand Slam quarterfinalist 26 weeks later.
Despite Dimitrov's experience, with 61 Grand Slam appearances to Fery's eight, it was the young Briton who handled the occasion better. Former British number one Greg Rusedski, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, assessed the outcome plainly. "If you look at the two players' careers, Dimitrov has always buckled at the big moments," Rusedski said. "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 has spent the entire week mounting comebacks. He dropped the opening set in his first two matches before winning in four sets each time. Against Belgium's Zizou Bergs in the third round, he was two sets to one down before pulling through. Speaking after Monday's victory, Fery described what the moment meant to him. "What I experienced today, I'm going to cherish for the rest of my life," he 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."
Fery was born in Paris and grew up in London near the All England Club. His mother, Olivia, is a French former Fed Cup player who worked for the LTA as a business development manager. His father, Loic, is an asset manager who owned Ligue 1 football club Lorient. After coming through the LTA system, Fery went on a scholarship to Stanford University. Sunday is his 24th birthday.
His next match is a quarterfinal Wednesday against Italian ninth seed Flavio Cobolli.
