Arthur Fehry’s memorable Wimbledon ended with Alexander Zverev denying him a place in the final, but the British wildcard is still glad he gave up a holiday in Greece for a fabulous fortnight in SW19.
Fery, who arrived at the championship as number 114 and had never advanced beyond the second round of a Grand Slam tournament, exceeded all expectations and reached the semi-finals.
The meeting with second seed Zverev was a step ahead, and the French Open champion was a class above, winning 7-6 (7-0) 6-2 6-4.
As the German embraced Fery warmly at goal, the Center Court crowd stood as one and applauded the player who has written one of the best stories about British Wimbledon in years.
After a poor start that saw 15 of his compatriots bow out in the first round, Fery exceeded British singles hopes and impressed the hosts with his fighting spirit.
Fery, who turns 24 in two days, will be confirmed as the new UK number one and will rise to 36th in the world rankings on Monday, as well as take home £900,000 in prize money.
It could very well have been a completely different story.
“I was supposed to go to Greece with friends. We’ll see if that’s still in the plans,” Fery said at the post-match press conference.
“One of my friends came early, hoping I would lose so I could join him. He came back two days later and supported me.
“I’m glad I kept going, kept competing in this tournament.”