Wimbledon: Can Arthur Fery follow in Emma Raducanu’s footsteps and become the latest Brit to win a Grand Slam title as a rank outsider? | Tennis News
Given Britain’s Arthur Fery is now only two victories away from achieving what looked to be mission impossible before Wimbledon started, it is only fair to draw comparisons.
What had started as a whisper after the world No 114’s fourth-round victory over Grigor Dimitrov has become more of a talking point among pundits and fans alike.
Can Fery emulate Emma Raducanu and go on to win his first Grand Slam title from seemingly out of nowhere?
Little was known of Raducanu when she became the first qualifier to win a major at the US Open in 2021.
Emma Raducanu won the US Open in 2021 after coming through qualifying
The same can be said of Fery after he booked a first-ever spot at a Grand Slam semi-final after stunning French Open finalist Flavio Cobolli.
Ahead of the tournament, Fery was merely part of a long-list of British names competing at the grass-court tournament. There was no expectation and certainly no suggestion that the 23-year-old wild card could win a couple of matches at Wimbledon, let alone reach the last four.
Back at the start of the Championships, the focus had been centred on the doom and gloom of British tennis. After Raducanu withdrew on the eve of the major through injury, 10 British players fell to defeat on the opening day, while Jack Draper also pulled out of his mouth-watering opening round tie against Taylor Fritz with a recurring arm injury.
British tennis was in the doldrums and there looked to be no light at the end of the tunnel.
That was before Fery and his high-risk, high-reward style of play hit the courts.
Arthur Fery has stunned fans with his style of play
Controversy and nosebleeds: Fery’s route to semi-finals
Fery has drawn controversy throughout his run to the Wimbledon semi-finals too. In his opening-round four-set win over Bosnia’s Damir Dzumhur, he was accused of dishonesty by his opponent over a let call.
Dzumhur felt a Fery serve had caught the tape which led to him complaining to the official asking for Fery to be “honest”.
He said: “I felt like he stopped, nobody called let. I didn’t ask him to replay but just to be honest, because I would do that. Obviously we are not all the same.”
Arthur Fery suffered with nose bleeds against Zizou Bergs
In his third-round win over Eastbourne champion Zizou Bergs, Fery needed three medical timeouts to treat nosebleeds, something which has affected him throughout his career.
The final nosebleed arrived as he was serving to stay in the match at 5-4 down in the deciding set.
To which Fery said in the aftermath of his victory: “It is a problem I am going to address. It has happened before but it’s not that common.
“It happened at times today when I didn’t want to stop, when momentum was with me.
“I know it annoying for the opponent. It gives me some extra time to rest sometimes.”
Under tournament rules, a player who is bleeding must receive treatment before play can continue, but they do not have to leave the court.
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Alison Taylor, the former coach of Arthur Fery, reveals what it was like to train the 23-year-old in his younger days and what first stood out to her about him.
Fery didn’t suffer nosebleeds on his Centre Court bow against Dimitrov on Monday night, nor did he in his straight-sets victory over Cobelli in just over two hours to book his spot in the semi-finals and a showdown with French Open winner Alexander Zverev.
The wild card, who started the tournament at world No 114, has risen into the top 40 after reaching the last four.
If he gets past Zverev, he could climb into the top 30 and would move even higher if he goes on to overcome either Novak Djokovic or Jannik Sinner in Sunday’s showpiece.
It is barely believable. But that was the case when Raducanu produced her own stunning triumph at Flushing Meadows just five years ago, and why couldn’t Fery produce similar magic again for British tennis?
By reaching the semis, he becomes only the fifth British man to reach the last four at Wimbledon, joining illustrious company alongside Andy Murray, Tim Henman, Roger Taylor and Cameron Norrie.
Andy Murray is the last British man to win Wimbledon
‘Raducanu didn’t let the occasion get to her’
Fery’s strengths are that he never knows when he is beaten. Against Bergs in the third round and Dimitrov in the fourth, he fought back from losing positions to achieve victory in five sets.
He showed that he could raise his level in the quarter-final too by defeating his first seed of the tournament so far in ninth-seed Cobolli.
Raducanu, who was world No 150 when she won in New York five years ago, didn’t meet a seed during her incredible run. But the Brit didn’t drop a set throughout as, at just 18-years-old, she became the youngest major champion since Maria Sharapova at the 2004 Wimbledon Championships.
Emma Raducanu didn’t drop a set en route to her title in 2021
Her run at the US Open came after she showed flashes of her abilities during her breakout run to the Wimbledon fourth round earlier that summer.
“My memory of it was that it was impressive how she didn’t let the occasion get to her,” Fery said of Raducanu’s 2021 Wimbledon campaign.
“She would just keep going match after match, playing well, beating top players. It’s very tough to do when you’re not used to being on the stage, on such a big stage.
“She did it great when she won the US Open. I’ve been trying to do that, as well. Just take it match by match, play my game.”
Fery: I’ve watched highlights of Ivanisevic’s 2001 success
While it is only natural to draw comparisons with Raducanu’s breakout success five years ago, much has also been mentioned about the last wild card to win at Wimbledon, Goran Ivanisevic back in 2001.
Ivanisevic beat a certain Brit Tim Henman in the semi-finals in a thrilling five-set match that lasted over three days due to rain delays, in the days before Centre Court had a roof.
Fery was asked about Ivanisevic’s achievement and whether he was aware of his incredible run some 25 years ago.
“I knew beforehand that he was the only wildcard to ever win a Grand Slam. So it’s obviously an incredible story,” Fery said after his win over Cobolli.
“I’ve watched the highlights of the final before. I’m not going to speculate too much or think ahead of what that could be like. I’m just going to keep thinking ahead about my match on Friday, and then we’ll see how it goes.”
Fery has already given British tennis fans a much needed boost as a time when all hope looked over. Now can he deliver his very own Raducanu moment by delivering one of sport’s biggest storylines of the year?
