Arthur Fery reaches Wimbledon quarterfinal after five-set thriller against Dimitrov

Fery makes history against Dimitrov

In his first Grand Slam quarterfinal, Fery will face French Open finalist Flavio Cobolli from Italy on Wednesday. Cobolli (ATP 10) had previously beaten world number six Alex de Minaur of Australia in three sets and, like last year, advanced to the round of the last eight at Wimbledon. De Minaur had taken an early break in sets two and three but could not prevent the Italian from pulling away.

With his run to the round of the best eight, Fery, who is ranked 114th in the ATP world rankings and grew up just five minutes from the Wimbledon grounds, wrote a «kleines Stück Tennisgeschichte», as the APA put it. Fery wrote a small piece of tennis history by becoming the first British wildcard professional to reach the quarterfinal of one of the four most important tournaments. The round-of-16 match between him and Dimitrov was also the first meeting of two wildcard players in this round of a Grand Slam tournament.

Cobolli awaits in the quarterfinal

After the victory, the spectators on Centre Court celebrated Fery with rhythmic chants. «Ich weiß nicht, was ich sagen soll. Die Unterstützung war phänomenal», the Briton said immediately after the match. Roger Federer, who had taken his seat in the Royal Box, also watched the triumph of the young Briton. In the Royal Box, alongside Federer, other prominent personalities were also seated.

Dimitrov, who had likewise received a wildcard for the tournament and at 35 years of age entered as the former top-five player and 2014 Wimbledon semifinalist, dominated the round-of-16 match over long stretches. After losing the first set, the Bulgarian raised his level and took a 2-1 lead in sets before breaking serve at 4-3 in the fourth set. In the end, however, it was not enough for Dimitrov, who had been forced to retire in last year's Wimbledon against eventual champion Jannik Sinner after leading 2-0 in sets due to a pectoral muscle injury. Dimitrov was also given an ovation as he departed.

Fritz advances comfortably to the round of the last eight

Meanwhile, Taylor Fritz of the United States (ATP 7) also moved into the quarterfinals with a three-set victory over Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik (ATP 11). The match lasted only 1:39 hours and ended 7-6 (7-1), 6-4, 6-4, after Fritz had already secured at least one service break in every set. For the 28-year-old, it is already the fourth Wimbledon quarterfinal and the eighth Grand Slam quarterfinal overall. On Wednesday, Fritz will face either Germany's Alexander Zverev (ATP 3) or Czech Jiri Lehecka (ATP 14).

In the women's singles, Alexandra Eala of the Philippines emerged as the surprise figure of the tournament. The world number 32 had caused a stir on Saturday with a victory over defending champion Iga Swiatek of Poland, securing the first ever round-of-16 appearance for a Filipina at a Grand Slam tournament. Two days later she took to the court in the round of the last 16 against Italian Grand Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini – with her right thigh and left hitting arm bandaged.

Eala loses bravely against Paolini

The 21-year-old fell in the round of the last 16, in the presence of tennis legend Roger Federer, to two-time Grand Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini 4-6, 6-4, 3-6. The world number 32 was able to take the first set for herself, but subsequently found no answers against the consistently playing Paolini. At temperatures around 30 degrees, the players reached for ice packs and cooling towels during the changeovers.

Paolini (30), who reached last year's Wimbledon final and the French Open final this season, will meet Ukrainian French Open semifinalist Marta Kostyuk in the quarterfinals. After her victory over Eala, the Italian revealed how difficult it had been for her to focus on the match while Federer sat in the stands – whom she described as her idol.

In men's doubles, the last remaining Austrian representatives were eliminated. Neil Oberleitner and his Czech partner Petr Nouza lost in the round of the best 16 to the third-seeded British defending champions Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool 3-6, 6-3, 5-7. The third-seeded Britons thus successfully defended their title from the previous year.

Oberleitner falls in doubles

The All England Championships, the third Grand Slam tournament of the year, are played on grass in Wimbledon. The total prize money this year amounts to 74.4 million euros. After his success against Dimitrov, Fery is the only remaining Briton in the singles draw and therefore the home crowd's last hope for a men's singles title.

The coming days promise high tension: while Fery faces Cobolli on Wednesday – the French Open finalist also reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the second consecutive year and is now aiming for his first ever Wimbledon semifinal – Fritz awaits in the other quarterfinal the winner of the match between Zverev and Lehecka. In the women's draw, the quarterfinal matches including Paolini against Kostyuk are also on the schedule.

Fery himself, who grew up in Wimbledon and lives only a few minutes from Centre Court, summed up the significance of the moment after the match: «Ich bin fünf Minuten von hier aufgewachsen ... Nun hier zu spielen, die Unterstützung zu fühlen und zu gewinnen, ist unglaublich. Es ist ein Traum.» Fery had taken part in the Wimbledon main draw for the first time via wildcard last year and is continuing his run this year. With his success, he has firmly established himself as the great British hope in men's singles.