British No 1 Arthur Fery will head into the American hard-court swing with areas he can improve ahead of the US Open – but that’s “exciting”, says Tim Henman.
The wild card’s surprise run to the Wimbledon semi-finals has injected a much-needed shot of positivity and given British fans a new name to follow in the Grand Slams – starting at the US Open in New York – live on Sky Sports Tennis from August 30.
The challenge for the 24-year-old now is to acclimatise to his new standing in the game and the loss of anonymity and the freedom that brings with it.
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Arthur Fery reflects on his Wimbledon experience, his massive climb up the world rankings and the tournaments he’s planning to play next
The 23-year-old, who has soared to 36 in the world from No 114, was the last player standing in what was an otherwise dismal tournament for the host nation, but he became only the fifth British man this century to reach the second week at the All England Club.
Fery has earned direct entry to a Masters event for the first time in Cincinnati – 13-23 August – before appearing at the Winston-Salem Open from 23-29 August ahead of his debut at Flushing Meadows.
Speaking at Royal Birkdale ahead of The Open, Henman called Fery’s dream run at the All England Club “amazing” and “transformational for his career and his life”.
The former British No 1 said: “He started the year at 185 in the world, qualified in Melbourne and then has continued to improve his ranking – then getting a wild card at Wimbledon ranked 114 and winning five matches getting to the semi-finals it was an incredible performance – and I think it also shows the fine margins between these top players.
“If you’re in the top 250 in the world you’re an extremely good player and on your day you’ve got a chance of beating anyone, so huge for him to be 36 in the world now getting to the other Grand Slams and Masters 1000, so he’s got an opportunity to really plan his schedule moving forward.”
With July 20 rankings being used for the US Open main draw, it means Fery has no time to improve his current ranking of No 36, but a few withdrawals could help him nudge into a seeding position, which would be a massive boost.
“I mean it’s interesting that actually the ranking points will come on after Wimbledon and then the entries are six weeks out so I think the first tournament he will take advantage of that is Cincinnati,” explained Henman.
The 2004 US Open semi-finalist also believes Fery will only improve his overall power in order to compete with top-tier opponents.
“He’s still got a lot of areas that he can improve in his game and I think that’s exciting when you know you’re young,” said Henman. “I can’t wait to watch him we need those British players at the top of the game and yeah he’s got a great opportunity.
“We needed that because those first couple of days were pretty rough for British tennis, but it was brilliant to see Arthur play so well and if Emma [Raducanu] and Jack [Draper] can be back fit, then there’s also Katie Boulter, Cam Norrie, while Jan Choinski has just broken into the top 100 – he’s 75 in the world now – so you want those British players creating stories at the biggest events.”
Fery ready for ‘attention’ like Raducanu after Wimbledon run
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Fery says it was ‘incredible’ to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals and vows to keep the British No 1 spot
Fery admits he might be plunged into the media spotlight in a similar manner to Raducanu following his fairy tale run at Wimbledon.
“Yes, even already a little bit during the tournament I was thinking of life after and how I was going to handle all that because we’ve seen it with people who’ve broken through in that manner before,” Fery told Sky News’ Jacquie Beltrao.
“With Emma obviously, Emma won a Slam and I didn’t but there was still a lot of media attention.
“It is going to be really important to handle that – the expectation from myself and also the public.”
The Brit is ready for more time in the media glare as he competes against the top players in tennis.
“It means I can play the top players week in week out and compare myself to them and keep working on my tennis,” said Fery.
“I am going to have to get accustomed to the full life of tour with more media attention and all of that but I think I’m ready for it.
“It is going to be a first as well playing the US Open. I didn’t even play qualifiers last year so it’s going be a great experience.”
He is also relaxed about the possibility of being among the top-32 seeded players for Flushing Meadows.
“I might already be in there [the top 32] if I’m lucky, a few withdrawals,” said Fery.
“I don’t think I will be able to contribute to the ranking anymore before the list comes out for the US Open, because it’s going to come out soon.
“Being seeded obviously protects you a little bit from the top guys, but it’s my first main draw that I qualify for directly with my ranking so just going to take it as it goes.”
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