Arthur Fery, visibly worn after an intense tournament, expressed his eagerness for a long-awaited holiday after his remarkable Wimbledon run concluded on Friday against Alexander Zverev.
The 23-year-old faced a challenging match, losing 7-6 (0), 6-2, 6-4 to the second seed. His impressive journey to the semi-finals marks the best performance by a wildcard since Goran Ivanisevic claimed the title in 2001.
“Was meant to be going to Greece with some friends. We’ll see if that’s still in the cards. One of my friends went ahead of time, hoping I would lose so I could join him. [But] he came back two days later and was supporting me. “I definitely need some time off, process everything that’s happened these past two weeks, have some time off tennis. It’s been a good grass season but a long one, mentally challenging. “Right now, I’m mentally, physically tired of the tournament. Going to make sure I take enough time to recharge the batteries, and then just go again and do my best in every match that I play. I feel like I’ve showcased it here, but also in the past year since I came back from injury, I’ve played really high-level tennis.”
Fery acknowledged his exhaustion, stating, “It’s going to change things, for sure,”
Ranking Boost and Expectations
“It’s going to be interesting to see, important to see how I deal with that change and everything that brings in terms of expectations from myself, from the public, from everyone. I’m already looking forward to that. It’s going to be a challenge to deal with all of that, but I’m conscious of it already and that’s the first step.”
Reflections on the Match
Despite his disappointment at the semi-final loss, Fery took pride in pushing his limits. He recognized Zverev’s superior play on the day, admitting, “It might have been just a step too far. The opponent was a step up again.”
