Arthur Fery was forced to wear earplugs to block out the complaints of furious Wimbledon opponent Damir Dzumhur, who collapsed spectacularly as the British wildcard advanced to the second round.
The 23-year-old Fery was confronted by Dzumhur, the 34-year-old world No 105, following a disputed ‘let’ call early in the second set. Following Dzumhur’s meltdown, Fery won 17 of the next 20 games, winning 2-6 6-2 6-2 6-1 to become just the first British man to advance to the second round.
Dzumhur continued to remonstrate with Fery as they shook hands at the net. Fery patted Dzumhur on the back after following Katie Swan into the second round, with both victories taking place on Court 16.
The flashpoint that turned the match occurred while Bosnian was serving while up a break at 2-1 in the second. On 15-30, Fery returned his opponent’s serve before Dzumhur hit a backhand slice into the net to bring up two break points for the British player.
Dzumhur, though, walked to the net with his arms outstretched. He claimed his serve hit the tape at the top of the net and said it should have been called as a ‘let’.
Speaking to Fery, Dzumhur accused his opponent of not calling the let and playing on: “It was a let. You played the point, you didn’t stop, huh? Wait, wait. You won the point. Just be honest. I don’t care what he [ the umpire] is saying.”
Fery countered: “I didn’t stop, I didn’t hear a let. I thought you [the umpire] had heard it.”
The 34-year-old Dzumhur then turned his fury to American chair umpire Greg Allensworth. “Did you see the let? Did you hear the let? So you are that bad that you cannot hear, and everybody heard? I am saying you are bad. You made the mistake. He [Fery] stopped.”
Before serving, Dzumhur applauded sarcastically and called to Fery across the court: “Fair play, man!”
Fery, though, won the break point when Dzumhur volleyed into the net. It was followed by a complete meltdown from Dzumhur, the world No 105, who lost the next four games in a row to lose the set.
Dzumhur then summoned the match referee James Garner to complain further about umpire Allensworth. Dzumhur could be heard saying, “It’s very tough to play when there’s someone who cannot do his job. I’m sure you are aware of this. He has nothing to worry about apart from this [the let]. I don’t know what to say, he has one thing to do and he can’t do it good. It would be the same if I came to the tennis court and could not hit shot.”
Fery attempted to keep his composure and stay in the zone by putting in a pair of earplugs to block out Dzumhur’s persistent complaints. Dzumhur’s slide continued during the third set, which was interrupted by Fery suffering a nosebleed and requiring a medical timeout. The Bosnian the first three games before Fery won the set 6-2.
On Dzumhur’s behaviour during the match, Fery said: “It was expected, to be honest. He does that with everyone. I guess I was just ready for it before the match. If it's a let, it's a let for everyone, right, it's not just a let for him. Whether the point carries on or not, it's the same for both of us.
”He obviously wants to make a problem with the ref, with the umpire, and then is trying to speak to me about it. But, I mean, there is nothing to really speak about. [He is] just trying to get the other player involved for no reason.”
Fery said he carries earplugs onto the court just in case he wants to block out distractions, so they came in handy while Dzumhur was ranting to the umpire. “I was just trying to focus on myself and block out all the noise, and that's the best way to deal with those kind of situations.”
British wildcard Fery is enjoying the season of his life after winning a match at the Australian Open as a qualifier and reaching the quarter-finals of Queen’s in London. Born in France, his mother was a professional tennis player and his father, Loic Fery, is the owner of Ligue 1 football club FC Lorient.
He is now through to the second round for the second year in a row, where he will play the Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen on Thursday. Virtanen produced the upset of the tournament so far by beating fourth seed Ben Shelton in a fifth-set tiebreak.
“It's a surprise. But yeah, it's an opportunity,” Fery said. “Virtanen won Birmingham and made final in Nottingham. Yeah, he beat Shelton today. He's obviously a great player, great grass court player.”
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