“I was always confident that I could play with top players" - Arthur Fery glowing with belief ahead of first event following Wimbledon breakthrough

Since that magnificent and unlikely run at Wimbledon, Arthur Fery has been a seldom seen character. Not yet utilising the bonuses he got from that Wimbledon run in terms of a ranking boost, he is preparing to make just his second Masters 1000 appearance in the Cincinnati Open, turning a new page in his tennis career.

The 24-year-old came into Wimbledon as another British wildcard hoping to make an impression. He was one of just a handful of players able to make it past the first round in a somewhat catastrophic week for British tennis.

The narrative on this was swiftly reversed with every win Fery picked up, getting more and more outstanding before taking down the French Open finalist Flavio Cobolli in straight sets to reach the semi-final. He was out-gunned by the number two seed Alexander Zverev in the end but nevertheless it was an insane breakout run for the Brit.

He climbed an astonishing number of places, having started the tournament in 114th in the ATP rankings. He would finish in a career high 36th in the world. This has given him all sorts of benefits in terms of what tournaments he plays in. He was handed a number of wildcards in some of the British ATP grass events but he had mostly resided on the Challenger Tour as he tried his luck now and again in qualifying tournaments.

That is a long distance memory now with him automatically in all the big tournaments, and even closing in on being seeded if he can win a few more matches. He is yet to compete since that Wimbledon showing, opting for a holiday and a training block before making his Cincinnati Open debut. With withdrawals, he is seeded for this tournament and receives a welcoming bye to the second round. Either James Duckworth or a qualifier will be his opening test with Alex de Minaur possibly awaiting him in the third round.

For Fery, this is a new and exciting chapter in his tennis career. “It’s the first time that I’ve broken through like that and I’m going to be able to play only tour events, so I’m looking forward to that,” he said.

It is set to be a huge shift after a career of competing in lower level tournaments, specifically on the Challenger Circuit in recent times. He will hope that his form continues to plough him up the order with no pressure to defend anything for a good period of time. This is a great opportunity to build up his points tally and leave himself in a good position when Wimbledon again comes around and he has to defend them.

While always having the belief, he has now proven to himself that he can play and defeat the top players in the sport. “I was always confident that I could play with top players. But yeah, now having the ranking to back it up is really great. And obviously you’re playing great players week in, week out, so it’s difficult."

Fery is very much full of confidence for a big second half of the season. “It’s a difficult sport with fine margins, so you’ve got to have a lot of self-belief. I think it comes from just proving to myself that I have beaten top players and if I do the right things and train well, I feel good on court when I’m with those top guys.”