British Tennis Forum - Celebrating 20 Years!

Var wrote:

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JonH wrote:

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Dimitrov and Berrettini is most definitely a centre court match, Id have that top match of the tournie so far.

Bottom half of draw looks much tougher than top now, if Arthur survives Bergs, he plays winner of Dimi and Berrettini - that will certainly be on one of the two big courts.

If.

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 Really! Two has beens fighting it out? No sorry a switch off for me. Would rather watch Alex.

-- Edited by Var on Saturday 4th of July 2026 07:54:45 AM

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 Berrettini? Quarters in French Open a month ago? Makes the whole field has beens!

Dimitrov has been struggling with injury but is playing well again now and would have possibly won the event last year. 

Most Brits would die to be labelled has beens if they were playing like these two! 

the addict wrote:

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Tom Kershaw's article in today's Times says that Arthur requested to play on Court 18 again

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 Fair dos I guess. Thanks.

Tbf it's surely not all about seeds or players' current ranking number, and there are factors with these two.

I just didn't see it as a definite centre court match but I do kind of understand it being chosen.

If Arthur was a show court possibility I would probably have had more issue with Tiafoe vs Bublik on Court 1.

-- Edited by indiana on Saturday 4th of July 2026 10:44:01 AM

QUote from Tom Kershaw

"The fact that Arthur Fery requested to play his third-round match against Zizou Bergs on Court 18 signals the pressure of being the sole Briton left in either singles draw.

The 23-year-old had earned the right to play on Court 1 at the very least after staving off the possibility of the first second-round wipeout since 2007, but the noise can be difficult to block out, even for a player who conjured a pair of ear plugs from his bag as his opponent repeatedly complained to the umpire earlier this week. But the nosebleeds that have become a curiously regular phenomenon in key moments have been more of a giveaway about how difficult it can be to manage such high-pressure moments for a player still finding their feet on tour.

Arthur likes Court 18 and had a great match out there last time [defeating Otto Virtanen in the second round] and putting him back out there fitted in with overall scheduling considerations, a statement from the All England Club in conjunction with his agent read, acting essentially as confirmation that Fery had not been snubbed. "

Jeff Stelling wrote:

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sammmm wrote:

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Has Arthur done something to upset somebody at AELTC? I can accept him not getting Centre or 1 by why is he on 18 instead of 2? Surely opening play on day 2 wouldve attracted a big crowd

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yeah sure, just post without reading any of the preceding messages debunking your rant

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 I had that message written several hours ago, forgot about it and only sent more recently so yes youre correct I didnt read the more recently messages. Apologies for being behind the curve.

the addict wrote:

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QUote from Tom Kershaw

"The fact that Arthur Fery requested to play his third-round match against Zizou Bergs on Court 18 signals the pressure of being the sole Briton left in either singles draw.

The 23-year-old had earned the right to play on Court 1 at the very least after staving off the possibility of the first second-round wipeout since 2007, but the noise can be difficult to block out, even for a player who conjured a pair of ear plugs from his bag as his opponent repeatedly complained to the umpire earlier this week. But the nosebleeds that have become a curiously regular phenomenon in key moments have been more of a giveaway about how difficult it can be to manage such high-pressure moments for a player still finding their feet on tour.

Arthur likes Court 18 and had a great match out there last time [defeating Otto Virtanen in the second round] and putting him back out there fitted in with overall scheduling considerations, a statement from the All England Club in conjunction with his agent read, acting essentially as confirmation that Fery had not been snubbed. "

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A couple of other extracts from the Kershaw article (which the archive set is currently refusing to save in full!):

Fery's talent has never been in question, but the cruel reality is that his height has always put the world No114 at a disadvantage. Standing at 5ft 9in, he has a solid game, but he does not possess the thundering first serve that can blow opponents off court or the kind of fizzing forehand that elicits involuntary "oohs" from the crowd. Yet he makes up for that lack of a signature weapon with an armoury of cunning tricks and tactical astuteness.

And a welcome mention in despatches for Alex Ward, not to mention Dan Evans:

"For sure, he's one of the shorter guys out there on tour [the average height is 6ft 2in]," Alex Ward, a coach at the LTA who is part of Fery's team, says. "He has to be an exceptional mover, which he is, and has to be, in some ways, a better tennis player because he's got a very good serve, but he's not going to get as many cheap points. From a young age, he's had to have an all-round game, be able to come to the net, be able to defend, attack, use variation. In general, if you are on the shorter side, you have to be better on the skills side, and fortunately he is."

Bergs is an exciting, expressive player with an aggressive baseline game and will be the clear favourite on Saturday, but Fery can do worse than try to emulate his compatriot, Dan Evans, who is also 5ft 9in, but clawed his way up the rankings and eventually became a mainstay of the upper echelons. "The way that Dan sets up points and comes into the net, Arthur can do that as well," Ward, a former player himself, who peaked at No242 in the rankings, says. "We've had chats with Evo. I know Evo really well and I've spoken to him in the past about Arthur and more just about what Evo did to win matches to create a successful career."

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Fery's key [to beating Bergs] will be variety and finding his way to the net so he can take advantage of his deft touch and lower base on a surface that favours him. But whatever the outcome, Fery has been on an exceptional trajectory to mark himself out as the leader - at least for now - among the group of British men battling to break into the top 100 for the first time.

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Although nosebleeds materialised at Queen's and after losing his serve against Vertanen [sic], Fery ultimately took a swab of Vaseline in his nostril and the step ups in his stride. "I think he can get into the top 50, but until people are knocking down these milestones, it's tough to say for sure," Ward says. "His level, especially on grass and hard courts, can definitely be top 100."