Britain’s Arthur Fery delivered one of the most dramatic moments of this year’s Wimbledon championship on Saturday, staging a remarkable comeback against Belgium’s Zizou Bergs to advance to the round of 16.
The 23-year-old wildcard won a grueling five-set battle by a score of 2-6, 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(5) in what became the longest match of the entire tournament, lasting four hours and 38 minutes.
Spectators packed every available spot around Court 18, cheering loudly as Fery clawed his way back from what looked like certain defeat. At one point, he was down two sets to one and trailing by a double break of serve against the world’s 37th-ranked Bergs.
Bergs appeared to have the match in hand, but his serve began to falter as Fery mounted his comeback and forced a decisive fifth set.
The drama reached new heights in the final set when Bergs surged ahead 4-1, yet once again he was unable to put Fery away. A nosebleed struck Fery while he was serving at 4-5, adding yet another layer of tension to an already electric atmosphere.
Despite the physical setback, Fery looked composed as the deciding tiebreaker got underway. With Bergs making a string of unforced errors, Fery closed out the victory and immediately collapsed onto his back on the court in a mixture of relief and exhaustion.
The win makes Fery the first British wildcard to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon since Andrew Foster accomplished the feat in 1993. Born in France, Fery is expected to crack the world’s top 100 rankings as a result of this run, setting him up for a consistent presence on the ATP Tour going forward.
Britain had a tough week overall at Wimbledon, losing 15 of its 19 singles players in the opening round. Fery stood alone as the only British player to make it as far as the third round.
