Arthur Fery, the 23-year-old wildcard, will become the new British No 1 male tennis player on Monday after his remarkable run to the Wimbledon semi-finals ended with a 7-6 (0), 6-2, 6-4 defeat to second seed Alexander Zverev. Fery's performance was the best by a wildcard since Goran Ivanisevic won the title in 2001.
Exhausted Fery looks forward to holiday
Fery, who had postponed his holiday plans due to his unexpected success, said he was mentally and physically drained. “I was meant to be coming back from holiday today,” he said. “Was meant to be going to Greece with some friends. We’ll see if that’s still in the cards. One of my friends went ahead of time, hoping I would lose so I could join him. [But] he came back two days later and was supporting me.”
“I definitely need some time off, process everything that’s happened these past two weeks, have some time off tennis. It’s been a good grass season but a long one, mentally challenging. Right now, I’m mentally, physically tired of the tournament. Going to make sure I take enough time to recharge the batteries, and then just go again and do my best in every match that I play. I feel like I’ve showcased it here, but also in the past year since I came back from injury, I’ve played really high-level tennis,” he added.
Ranking rise and future expectations
Fery will rise from world No 114 to No 36, securing his place as the British No 1 and automatic entry into all major tournaments. He acknowledged the increased expectations that come with his new status. “It’s going to change things, for sure. I’m going to be able to play tour events at least for a full year, hopefully for more. It’s going to be interesting to see, important to see how I deal with that change and everything that brings in terms of expectations from myself, from the public, from everyone. I’m already looking forward to that. It’s going to be a challenge to deal with all of that, but I’m conscious of it already and that’s the first step,” he said.
Zverev proves too strong
Fery admitted that Zverev was a step too far. “It might have been just a step too far. The opponent was a step up again,” he said. Despite the loss, Fery expressed pride in his performance and his comeback from injury over the past year.
