Fery knocks out Dimitrov as Paolini reaches Wimbledon last eight
Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
At a glance
- British wildcard Arthur Fery upset Grigor Dimitrov in a five-set thriller to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
- Jasmine Paolini advanced to the last eight by defeating Alexandra Eala, while Alexander Zverev's match was suspended due to a curfew.
- Fery, the lowest-ranked British man in the Open era to reach this stage, is set to break into the ATP top 100.
Britain's Arthur Fery produced a stunning upset on Centre Court, defeating fellow wildcard Grigor Dimitrov in a dramatic five-set match to secure a place in the Wimbledon quarter-finals. The 23-year-old, ranked world number 114, dug deep with the support of the home crowd to clinch a 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10/7) victory over the experienced Bulgarian.
Fery, who grew up just five minutes from the All England Club and used to watch matches on Centre Court, described the experience as "unbelievable." This remarkable run marks a significant career milestone for Fery, who is now poised to enter the ATP top 100 for the first time. He is bidding to become only the fifth British man in the Open era to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals.
First time on this court, five sets against an absolute legend of the game. I grew up five minutes from here, coming to watch matches on this court. It's unbelievable.
His opponent in the next round will be ninth seed Flavio Cobolli, who also advanced to the quarter-finals with a solid performance. Cobolli defeated Australian fifth seed Alex de Minaur in straight sets. Meanwhile, French Open champion Alexander Zverev was forced to wait to complete his fourth-round match against Czech 13th seed Jiลรญ Leheฤka, as play was halted by the 10 PM GMT curfew with Zverev leading.
Leaving the court with a loss again, it's not so happy.
In the women's draw, Italian 13th seed Jasmine Paolini continued her strong campaign by reaching her first Grand Slam quarter-final since the 2024 Wimbledon final. She edged out Alexandra Eala, who had previously eliminated Iga ลwiฤ tek, in a hard-fought 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory. Paolini is set to face Ukrainian 12th seed Marta Kostyuk in the next round.
The day also saw Taylor Fritz, a semi-finalist last year, secure his place in the last eight by defeating Alexander Bublik. For Dimitrov, it was another case of last-16 heartbreak, having been forced to retire injured at the same stage last year. Despite the loss, he expressed a desire to "see it as a happy moment."
But I'm going to choose to see it as a happy moment.
Originally published by Daily Sabah. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.