Arthur Fery’s unforgettable Wimbledon ended as Alexander Zverev denied him a place in the final – but the British wildcard is still glad he opted out of a holiday in Greece to experience a fairytale fortnight at SW19.
Fery, who arrived at the Championships as the world number 114 and had never been beyond the second round of a Grand Slam, defied all expectations to reach the semi-finals.
An encounter against second seed Zverev proved one step too far and the French Open champion was a class above in a 7-6 (7-0) 6-2 6-4 win.
As the German shared a warm embrace with Fery at the net, the Centre Court crowd rose as one and applauded the player who wrote one of the best British Wimbledon stories of the past few years.
After a dismal start that resulted in 15 of his compatriots falling in the first round, Fery has carried British singles hopes further than anyone imagined, and dazzled the home crowd with his fighting spirit.
Fery, who turns 24 in two days’ time, will be confirmed as the new British number one and will rise to 36th in the world rankings on Monday, as well as taking home £900,000 in prize money.
It could so easily have been a very different tale.
“I was meant to be going to Greece with some friends. We’ll see if that’s still in the cards,” Fery said in his post-match news conference.
“One of my friends went ahead of time, hoping I would lose so I could join him. He came back two days later and was supporting me.
“I’m glad that I kept going, kept going in this tournament.”
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