On Thursday, the Princess of Wales made an appearance at Wimbledon, keenly observing the progress of British players. While her visit to No 1 Court was brief, where Katie Swan succumbed to Madison Keys in straight sets, there was a brighter outcome on Court 18 as Arthur Fery, who grew up just a short distance from the All England Club, triumphed over Otto Virtanen to reach the third round for the first time.
Fery initially lost the first set, dropping his serve for the only time in the match at 5-6, and then experienced a nosebleed soon after. However, he quickly regained his composure, winning the next three sets with relative ease, securing victory with scores of 5-7, 7-6 (3), 6-3, and 6-3. He is set to face Zizou Bergs in the upcoming round.
Living just ten minutes away from the tournament grounds allows Fery the comfort of sleeping in his own bed during the event, a rare luxury for professional athletes. He expressed his gratitude for this arrangement, stating, “We don’t have that luxury very often. We’re always in hotels, Airbnbs or apartments. It’s been nice staying at home for Queen’s, staying at home for Wimbledon now, having family around. It feels like I’m at home, and the drive’s not long.”
On the other hand, Swan faced a tough challenge against Keys, who dominated the opening set with a swift 6-1 victory, breaking Swan’s serve twice. The second set saw a more competitive effort from the British player, featuring five consecutive breaks before Keys ultimately secured the set 6-4.
“I’m disappointed that I couldn’t sneak it into a third set,” Swan reflected. “But I think I can take a lot from this experience and hopefully, next time I play on a court like that, I can go into that with a bit more confidence and knowing that I can compete with these top girls. “I’ve loved my time here this week. It’s quite surreal to think I was playing on No 1 Court today, and 14 months ago I was playing a 15K in Sharm el-Sheikh. I have come quite a long way, it’s been gradual and steady. That’s the goal from here, to keep building my ranking week to week.”
She added, “I didn’t really know how it would feel to walk out there,”
Swan, who entered the tournament as a wildcard and nearly left the sport two years ago due to chronic back issues, found her rhythm when facing defeat. She managed to break Keys twice in the second set and pushed the 2025 Australian Open champion to two deuces in the final game, but ultimately fell short.
“You can sit out there and experience it, but walking on to the court is a whole other thing. And then having to try and perform while my legs felt like they were lead from the nerves. “I knew I wanted to try and get the crowd going as early as I could. They were amazing, they really helped me stay positive when the score wasn’t going my way. I kept fighting and unfortunately it just didn’t go my way in the end.” she shared. “It’s obviously the slam where I’ve, I guess, done the worst,”
Despite the setback, Swan acknowledged the support of the crowd, stating, “Obviously I would like to make it one step further and make a semi-final or go even further and make a final or lift the trophy. “[But] a lot of times, the game isn’t fully dictated by you. So there’s been times where I feel like I have played really well here and I’ve simply lost because the person on the other side of the net played better. I think that’s the really hard part about this sport specifically, because there’s so little that you actually control.”
Keys, fresh off her victory at last month’s Eastbourne Open, aims to capitalize on her current momentum and surpass her previous best performance at Wimbledon, which saw her reach the quarter-finals in 2023.
“It’s obviously the slam where I’ve, I guess, done the worst,” Keys commented. “Obviously I would like to make it one step further and make a semi-final or go even further and make a final or lift the trophy.”
She continued, “[But] a lot of times, the game isn’t fully dictated by you. So there’s been times where I feel like I have played really well here and I’ve simply lost because the person on the other side of the net played better. I think that’s the really hard part about this sport specifically, because there’s so little that you actually control.”
In other matches, Jacob Fearnley suffered disappointment on Court 12, losing to Spain’s Jaume Munar. The British player had his opportunities, notably in the second set, but Munar’s strong serve proved too much, resulting in a 6-4, 7-6 (3), 6-4 defeat after 2 hours and 51 minutes.
Jan Choinski also exited the tournament after a valiant effort against Frances Tiafoe, the 17th seed. Despite claiming the first set, the 30-year-old ultimately fell 4-6, 6-2, 7-5, 6-2.
