The narrative of Arthur Fery’s run from wildcard to the semi-finals bears some similarity to the appalling 2004 film ‘Wimbledon’, but the 23-year-old has been inspired by rather more refined cinema this fortnight.
‘I’ve been watching the Godfather,’ he says. ‘Bit of a throwback, never watched it before. I’ll probably be on to the Godfather Part II tonight.’ And Part III if he makes the final? ‘Yeah.’
Somehow, it feels appropriate. Francis Ford Coppola’s mafia trilogy is about violence and power and the perversion of the American dream, but most of all it is about family. And Fery’s run this week is all about family. Father Loic watches from his player box, mother Olivia from the relative anonymity of the All England Club members’ area.
There have been attempts from the French media – without a men’s Grand Slam champion since 1983, without a semi-finalist since 2019 – to co-opt Fery as one of their own, and you can see why.
He was born in the Parisian suburbs to French parents: Olivia competed at the French Open and, as the president of FC L’Orient, Loic is an extremely well-known figure in France.
But Fery’s run here is a peculiarly local tale. He grew up in Wimbledon and has been coming to the All England Club since he was a child. His mother joined as a temporary member a decade ago and became a full member last year. This means Fery’s campaign has been run from home.
Wildcard Arthur Fery is producing the story of the summer getting to Wimbledon’s final four
The young Brit stunned Flavio Cobolli in straight sets on Centre Court to reach the semi-finals
He is sleeping in his old bedroom and eating his mum’s cooking which, given her nationality, we can assume is magnifique.
‘I’ve had a day off every time between matches,’ he says. ‘That’s been nice, I’ve had some normal dinners at home with my family and just relaxing there in my own bed.
‘It’s nice to just chuck a movie on and not think about tennis a little bit.
‘I don’t cook but I help with the dishes and everything else – mum cooks!’
This all offers a clue as to how Fery has been able to take the events of this fortnight in his 5ft 9in stride.
The tennis tour lives its life out of hotels or apartments. A player such as Fery – he was world No 114 coming in – would rarely book for the whole tournament so would have the added stress of moving accommodation.
Parents and friends might be flown in – there would be a much more tangible sense of his life changing before his eyes. Instead, for Fery, there is normality, a break from the lonely anonymity of the lower rungs of the tour.
‘I’m used to travelling and staying in a hotel,’ says Fery. ‘I know my surroundings, I know the place, everything around me is taken care of, so that’s really a benefit to me. Wimbledon is obviously special in that regard.’
As placid as Fery has been at Wimbledon, there was the nagging issue of the nosebleeds.
Fery admits he has been fuelled on this fairytale run by mum Olivia’s (centre) cooking
Dad Loic (dark blue shirt) and grandfather Denis (light blue shirt) have been cheering him on
It was as if all the nerves and tension – so invisible in his demeanour on court – were bursting out of his nostrils instead. He had nosebleeds in his first two matches and three in his third. Since then, as he has stepped up to Centre Court, nothing.
It seemed awfully convenient and we have got to the bottom of it: ‘I had a little procedure four days ago,’ Fery reveals. ‘Getting the blood vessels cauterised in the nose. A small thing, nothing major.’
Nasal cauterisation involves using heat to seal a broken blood vessel – it sounds unpleasant but Fery assures us ‘it didn’t hurt’.
‘That seemed to help,’ he continues. ‘I’ve also tried to avoid wiping with a towel straight on the nose. I think that was also not helping, so just a combination of things, a bit of luck as well.’
Fery and his sealed left nostril will take on Zverev on Friday, England’s footballers face Norway on Saturday in Miami, then the men’s final on Sunday: it has the potential to be an extraordinary few days of sport.
‘It’s going to be a great weekend,’ says Fery. ‘I think everyone’s been getting on the beers already, I don’t think I need to push them to do that.
‘It’s great to see British sport doing so well. The England team had a great win against Mexico, I’m sure they’re going to do well against Norway so let’s just keep it going.’
Often in World Cup years there is a bond formed between a tennis player and his country’s footballers, if both are progressing in tandem.
When Carlos Alcaraz won Wimbledon in 2024 as Spain won the Euros, he was chatting back and forth with the players, they were watching his matches on big screens in the camp.
Fery has a long-standing issues with nosebleeds but he had a minor procedure in recent days
Fery is a big football fan but that is not his way. Asked if he had exchanged messages with any of the Three Lions, he replied: ‘I haven’t looked. I have no idea.’
One envies Fery’s sense of restraint and serenity – to not even be a little curious as to whether Jude Bellingham or Harry Kane have dropped him a line.
It is typical of this really rather remarkable young man. He has made the run of his life look like he is playing a tournament at his local tennis club. Which, in fact, he is.
