Short in stature but not confidence - can Fery continue SW19 run?

Arthur Fery is probably sick of people mentioning his height.

At 5ft 9in, the British number three is shorter than many of his peers on the ATP Tour.

The Wimbledon grass often suits ‘servebots’ – tall players who send down flurries of aces and unreturnable first serves. Fery does not fall into that category.

But the 23-year-old has shown he has other tools to hurt opponents and plans to use them against Zizou Bergs, a 6ft 1in Belgian, when they meet on Saturday for a place in the fourth round.

The world number 114 is carrying British hopes at the All England Club after becoming the sole home player to reach the third round of the singles.

“Arthur has to be an exceptional mover – he’s got a very good first serve, but he’s not going to get as many cheap points by hitting people off the court,” said Alex Ward, a men’s national coach with the Lawn Tennis Association who has been guiding Fery.

“He’s had to have an all-round game, been able to come to the net, defend, attack, use variation.

“In general, if you are on the shorter side, you have to be better at the skill side, and fortunately, he is.”

Fery has plenty of venom in his groundstrokes and his nimbleness means he is able to spring forward to finish points with volleys at the net.

The way Fery carries himself around the court is also notable, and Ward believes it is one of his biggest strengths.

“He believes, not in an arrogant way, he can beat the players he’s playing here,” said Ward.

“When you talk to him, and when we speak about matches or opponents, I get a real true feeling that he believes he can win matches.

“That’s a massive thing to have, and it’s a tough thing to be taught.”

Fery, who grew up down the road from the All England Club, displays a fire on the court which he says he inherited from his parents.

His mother, Olivia, is a French former Fed Cup player who used to work for the LTA as a business development manager, while father Loic is an asset manager who was the owner of Ligue 1 football club Lorient.

His parents were in the crowd when he beat Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen, with more family and friends chanting his name in heart-warming scenes when he secured victory.

Fery thrived on the atmospheric Court 18 and has been put back on the same smaller show court – instead of Centre Court or Court One – against world number 37 Bergs.

Wimbledon organisers said Fery likes playing there and that it “fitted in with overall scheduling considerations”.

On his status as Britain’s last man standing, Fery said: “I wouldn’t say it’s pressure. If anything, it’s a good thing for me personally.

“Obviously for the Brits in general, it’s not as good. We’d love to have as many Brits as possible in the third round.

“But there’s no pressure attached to it. I play for myself.”

The French-born star carrying British hopes

Fery grew up just a short walk away from Wimbledon, but there is much more to his story than the confines of SW19.

He was born near Paris before the family moved to Wimbledon when he was still in nappies.

After coming through the LTA system, Fery moved to Stanford University in California to study for a degree in science, technology and society – and sharpen his game with a tennis scholarship.

Now Fery is back on his doorstep and enjoying the biggest success of his career.

“I grew up coming to the tournament, watching the players, and that definitely contributed to my development,” Fery told BBC Sport.

“I was trying to imitate players – like you do when you’re a kid. Now I’m here winning matches. It’s awesome.”

Summer holidays were spent at the family’s second home near La Rochelle on the west coast of France, while he also enjoyed time with other relatives near Nice – an area packed with courts and academies – to hone his tennis talent.

Fery briefly represented France when he was about 10 before starting to play for Britain shortly after.

After that, he says, there was “no question” he would go on to represent Britain in the professional ranks.

“By that point, there was really no decision to make. I was living here, I was training at the National Tennis Centre. I was in the system here,” he said.

“I feel completely British now. Maybe 10 years ago if you’d asked me the question, it would be a bit different. Now I feel very British at heart.”