Arthur Fery defied NHS medical advice by continuing his Wimbledon campaign just days after undergoing a procedure to cauterise blood vessels in his nose. The British wildcard, whose earlier matches were repeatedly interrupted by nose bleeds, had the operation following his third-round victory over Zizou Bergs. Despite the procedure, Fery played on and reached the semi-finals, where he lost in straight sets to Alexander Zverev.
Nose bleeds plagued Fery's early rounds
Fery's nose bleeds became a recurring issue during his first three matches at SW19. The problem caused multiple stoppages in his wins over Grigor Dimitrov and Flavio Cobolli. After the third round, he opted for a cauterisation procedure to stop the bleeding. BBC commentator Andrew Cotter revealed that this went against official NHS guidelines.
"No more of the nose bleeds. The nose bleeds were a thing of the first three rounds. He did have a procedure after the Zizou Bergs match to have the blood vessels cauterised inside the nose," Cotter said on BBC. "NHS recommendations after you have that procedure are no physical exercise for two weeks. No strenuous sporting activities it says."
McEnroe shares similar experience
John McEnroe, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, commented that he had undergone the same procedure as a child. "I had the same procedure years ago as a kid, had the same issues but not on Wimbledon Centre Court and publicised," McEnroe added.
Fery's run ends against Zverev
Despite the disruption, Fery managed to play his semi-final against Alexander Zverev with minimal nose-bleed interruptions. However, he was unable to pull off another upset, losing in straight sets. The German fourth seed advanced to the final, where he will face world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who beat Novak Djokovic in the other semi-final.
Ranking jump and US Open qualification
Although his Wimbledon run ended, Fery's performance catapulted him up the ATP rankings. He jumped to world No. 36, making him the new British No. 1 and earning him automatic entry into the US Open in August.
Reflecting on his achievement, Fery said: "I don't know yet. It's still very fresh. I still don't have my new ranking. Yeah, it will definitely take time to get used to, to fully digest. But yeah, right now 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 on every match that I play."
He added: "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. Yeah, I don't know where exactly if I can put a number on my level, but I feel definitely comfortable playing Slam main draws and more."
