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 (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.”
Fery, who returned good wishes to the England football team after their video message, admitted the Zverev clash had ultimately proved a match too far after the roller-coaster ride he had taken to the last four.
He was behind in both his opening two matches, then staged memorable comebacks to beat Zizou Bergs and Grigor Dimitrov in rounds three and four in deciding tie-breaks.
Fery peaked in a dominant victory against Flavio Cobolli in the quarter-finals but Zverev was simply too good and too strong after the German, standing close to a foot taller, had edged the opening set on a tie-break.
A double fault on the second point was a key moment, with Zverev running away with it thereafter, powering away 44 winners compared to just 16 for Fery.
“I’m most proud of how I handled the progression of the tournament and how I kept going in every match,” said Fery.
“It would have been easy to just, for example, let Zizou Bergs run away with his two breaks in the fourth and go on holiday and come back.
“I just kept fighting, came back to the match court every time and gave my best. I was mentally locked in. I lacked a bit of that today. It might have been just a step too far. The opponent was a step up again.
“That’s what I was most proud of, never letting go and really pushing myself to the limit.
“Obviously a great fortnight for me. Today was tough. It still hurts like a loss.”
Having finally achieved his main goal of winning a grand slam title at the French Open, Zverev could add another at the first opportunity.
The 29-year-old has now completed his set of slam finals, and he said: “I stay focused. I stay hungry. I want more. I want to continue playing at the best level and continue winning. I hope I’m able to do that, and again on Sunday I have another big chance.”
Sinner ruthlessly destroys Djokovic to return to Wimbledon final - reaction
Novak Djokovic out of Wimbledon after straight sets loss to Jannik Sinner
Arthur Fery overpowered by Alexander Zverev as Wimbledon dream comes to abrupt end
Wimbledon rivals at a loss to explain Czech ‘tradition’ at SW19
Arthur Fery argues with umpire following ‘obvious errors’ during Wimbledon semi-final
British doubles star Patten blasts ATP Tour cuts proposal ahead of Wimbledon final
