The UK’s Arthur Fery is well aware he will leave Wimbledon a very different tennis player to the one who walked into the All England Club a fortnight ago.
Fery’s dream run came to a halt with a comprehensive semi-final defeat by Alexander Zverev, ending hopes of the most improbable of home finalists, but it takes nothing away from what the 23-year-old has achieved.
Beginning the tournament as a wild card ranked 114 and hoping to win a match or two, Fery put together a run of five victories that left him standing alongside French Open champion Zverev, world number one Jannik Sinner and 24-time grand slam winner Novak Djokovic as the final four.
When he wakes up on Monday morning, Fery will be the British number one and ranked 36th in the world, high enough to get him into all the big tournaments and possibly seeded at the US Open.
Speaking after his 7-6 (7-0), 6-2, 6-4 defeat, the Wimbledon resident said: “It’s going to change things, for sure.
“I’m going to be able to play tour events at least for a full year, hopefully for more. It’s 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.
“Right now I’m mentally, physically tired of the tournament. I’m 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 don’t know if I can put a number on my level, but I feel comfortable playing slam main draws and more.”
Fery had talked ahead of the semi-final about taking inspiration from Emma Raducanu’s US Open triumph five years ago, and his insistence on highlighting the potential negatives of his sudden change in status may well have been with his countrywoman’s travails in mind.
One other unintended consequence, meanwhile, was that Fery’s deep run cost him a planned holiday in Greece with friends.
“I was meant to be coming back from holiday today,” he said. “We’ll see if that’s still on the cards.
“One of my friends went ahead of time hoping I would lose so I could join him. He came back two days later and was supporting me.”
