Arthur Fery stunned Grigor Dimitrov on Monday evening.
The Briton defeated Dimitrov 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6, much to the delight of the British tennis fans packed into Centre Court.
Fery expressed his disbelief after the contest, before describing the crowd support as ‘phenomenal.’
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Fery is only the second British man in the last decade to reach the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, following Andy Murray and Cameron Norrie.
Jamie Murray and Tim Henman, two former British number ones, have since reacted to Fery’s historic triumph.
Jamie Murray says Arthur Fery was ‘very brave’ during victory over Grigor Dimitrov
“It’s something we have seen throughout this tournament and throughout his career, that he is a great competitor,” Henman, the former world number four, said while on punditry duties for the BBC.
“He is going to keep fighting for the next point.
“Today Dimitrov had the match on his racket at 2-1, 4-3, 15-0 but Fery was there point after point, looking to try and keep asking Dimitrov questions.
“Once he got that break back and turned around the fourth set you knew it was going to be anyone’s match in the fifth and that is where no doubt the Wimbledon crowd had their part to play.”
Jamie Murray, a former world number one in doubles and seven-time major doubles champion, went on to explain how life on the Tour will change for Fery following his Wimbledon campaign.
“He is going to get into all the biggest tournaments in the world,” Murray said. “It’s much easier for him to plan his schedule.
“I think Challengers will be a thing of the past for him. I think a lot of people had a lot of belief in what he could do on the court.
“His body has been a frustration for him at times, but he has shown over the last eight days what a player he is.
“He was so composed throughout the match. He spent a lot of time down in the scoreline but he stuck to his guns, stuck to his game plan and his identity.
“He was very brave at the end. It was so impressive to watch. He should be very proud of what he has done today.”
After beating Dimitrov, Fery is set to play Italian Flavio Cobolli in the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
Cobolli, who qualified for his first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros last month, defeated Alex de Minaur in the fourth round.
Fery famously defeated Cobolli in the first round of this year’s Australian Open.
The Briton defeated Cobolli 7-6, 6-4, 6-1 before losing to Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the second round.
What did Arthur Fery say after beating Flavio Cobolli in Melbourne?
Yeah, I felt great. I felt very comfortable on that court,” Fery told reporters in Melbourne after stunning Cobolli. “Obviously playing three matches beforehand in quallies really helped. Yeah, I love Melbourne in general.
He later added: “Yeah, of course nervous beforehand. But at the same time I came through qualies, I’m playing a guy who is way higher ranked than me, so I feel I have nothing to lose.
“And yeah, felt like I held my nerve really well in the third set. Yeah, it’s easy to hold back a little bit when you know you’re very close to the finishing line.
“But, yeah, I felt like I did a really good job today, as in the last round of qualies as well to, yeah, get through it without any real nerves, yeah.”
Cobolli struggled with stomach issues throughout the contest, inhibiting the young Italian’s ability to perform at his best.
“Everything was under control until half an hour before the match, and I even warmed up well,” Cobolli said after the match, as per Ubitennis.
“As soon as I stepped onto the court, I started to feel intense pain and had to go to the bathroom, but the rules didn’t allow it.
“I tried to endure by taking many pills to try to stop the flow, but they didn’t have an immediate effect.
“When I finally went to the bathroom, I initially felt a little better, but then the pills kicked in, I lost a lot of fluids, and my energy plummeted.
“I was also a bit nervous because I didn’t want things to go this way.
“I had prepared as best as I could for this Grand Slam, I felt good and played well.
“Today I felt good on the court again and obviously my opponent deserved the victory, but it would have been a different match under other conditions.”
