Count Taylor Fritz Among those Who Knew of Arthur Fery’s Potential

Arthur Fery has burst onto the scene at Wimbledon, keeping British hopes alive with a remarkable run to the quarterfinals as a wild card.

Ranked No.114, the 23-year-old—who grew up just five minutes from the All England Club before taking his talents to Stanford University—was relatively unknown to the wider tennis world.

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Taylor Fritz, who reached his third consecutive Wimbledon quarterfinal on Monday, was one of the few who already knew about Fery’s potential.

During a training block in London in late 2024, the American spent much of the week practicing with the Brit and quickly came away impressed.

“I know a good bit about Arthur,” Fritz said. “I went to London before the 2024 World Tour Finals, and I did a training week there prior to Turin. I practiced with him most of the week.”

Fritz says he took more than a few lumps during those practice sessions.

“I was playing well,” he said. “I made finals of Turin the next week. I felt pretty good about my game. He was beating me, like, every day. I was like, ‘Yeah, this guy’s really good. This guy can play.’”

What stood out most?

“He had a good forehand for his size. Unbelievable serve. Like I said, we were playing sets, baseline games. He was cooking me pretty consistently for the week,” Fritz said. “I knew that I was playing good tennis, so it’s not surprising to me that he’s having results and also taking advantage of a draw that’s opened up a bit. It doesn’t surprise me at all that he’s winning. I’ve known since then that he can play.”

Fery kept his fairy-tale run alive with a 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(7) victory over Grigor Dimitrov to set up a quarterfinal clash with Flavio Cobolli.

“I think he just went and grabbed the match when the important moments came through,” Dimitrov said. “He went for it.”

Chris Oddo is a freelance sportswriter, podcaster, blogger and social media marker who is a lead contributor to Tennisnow.com. He also writes for USOpen.org, Rolandgarros.com, BNPParibasOpen.com, TennisTV.com, WTAtennis.com and the official US Open program.

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