Damir Dzumhur unleashed fury at the umpire during his first-round clash at Wimbledon and accused British wild card Arthur Fery of not being honest. The Bosnian was facing Fery and held a set and a break advantage when he challenged what he believed was an incorrect let call on Court 16.
Confrontation on Court 16
The umpire took the brunt of it, but Fery also came under fire during his opponent's outburst, in which the 23-year-old was urged to 'be honest'. The dispute seemed to affect Dzumhur, who watched his chances slip away after expressing his frustration and eventually suffered defeat in four sets.
'It was a let,' Dzumhur said to the umpire during the confrontation. As Fery then approached the net, his opponent made clear his annoyance was mainly with the official. 'You played the point, you didn't stop,' he continued, addressing the Brit. 'No, no, no. You won the point, let's be honest.'
'I don't care what he's saying,' Dzumhur added, gesturing towards the umpire. 'Can you be honest and say you didn't stop?'
Fery's Denial and Dzumhur's Dismay
Fery, who pulled off a similar shock at Wimbledon last year in the first round, then twice confirmed that he didn't stop, telling his rival: 'I didn't hear the let.' 'Look in my eyes and say this, you didn't stop?' Dzumhur asked. When Fery refused to change his stance, the 34-year-old appeared dismayed.
Dzumhur then turned directly to the umpire and asked if they saw the let, to which he was told no. When he asked if he had heard it, the same response followed. Dzumhur then added: 'So you are that bad that you didn't hear, and everybody heard?' 'You are that bad? You made the mistake. And he [Fery] stopped.'
Match Turning Point
Before stepping up to serve again, he turned to Fery and said: 'Fair play man, as always.' The British player needed just one of his two break points to draw level at 2-2 in the second set before storming through the next four games consecutively. The one-sided dominance carried into the third set, which the Brit wrapped up 6-2. He then sealed the victory in commanding fashion, taking the fourth set to complete a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 triumph.
British Success at Wimbledon
Fery became the first British man to advance to the second round and only the second British singles player overall to do so this year following a disastrous first day for home players. Katie Swan had led the way, defeating Irina-Camelia Begu 6-4, 6-4. Fery's next challenge will be against Otto Virtanen in the second round. The Finnish player caused a major upset by knocking out fourth seed Ben Shelton in a final-set tie-break to set up the encounter.
