Arthur Fery believes right balance key to Wimbledon success

South Wales Argus

15 hours ago

Arthur Fery believes he has found the right balance as he gears up for maiden second round appearance at Wimbledon.
The 22-year-old is set to lock horns with Italy's Luciano Darderi on Wednesday, days after finally breaking through with a first-ever win in SW19 by taking down 20th seed Alexei Popyrin 6-4 6-1 4-6 6-4.
It was only last year that the Fery reached a career-high ranking of 229 but injury struggles have since seen him tumble down to 461.
But the British wild card believes that the worst is now behind him and he is eager to make up for lost time.
"I'm confident in my tennis. I just haven't really been able to play that much in the past year or so," said Fery.
"I've just got to try and stay healthy and keep improving. That's the most important thing. The ranking will come and I definitely feel like I can play at this level. I took out a seed but all these guys are incredible players.
"It's just going to be another match and I've got to get ready for it. Ranking, at the end of the day, doesn't mean that much. It's anyone's match on any day.
"I'm just going to try and practice as well as I can for Wednesday and get ready for that. I think one match at a time.
"It's obviously a big tournament with more points than if I was playing a challenger but at the end of the day it's just a tennis match.
"I've just got to stay on the right line and keep moving forwards."
For Fery, Wimbledon is not just about the grass court, Pimm's and strawberries and cream.
Having grown up in the area, the tournament marks a homecoming for the 22-year-old and he plans to savour every moment of it.
"It's very special," added Fery. "I live so close and every year I'm very grateful to play here. I've always got friends and family around the court supporting.
"I've been to this place since I was five or six and to play here and win matches here is very special."
Fery will take on Darderi for a place in the third round following the Italian's five set victory over Roman Safiullin.
Victory there would set up a tie with either Jordan Thompson or Benjamin Bonzi, who defeated Daniil Medvedev in his first round encounter, meaning the draw has opened up significantly for the British hope.
And the 22-year-old hopes a successful stint in SW19 can help kickstart his career again
"Hopefully soon enough I won't need wild cards to play here," he said.
"I am very confident in myself. I just got to try and stay healthy and keep improving. That's the most important. Yeah, the ranking will come. I definitely feel like I can play at this level."