Arthur Ferry beat Damir Dzumhur 3-6 6-2 6-2 6-1 at Wimbledon after a let-call dispute in the second set. The 23-year-old wildcard came from a set and 2-0 down, then became the first British man to reach the Wimbledon second round.
Let call at 15-30
The row started in the fourth game of the second set, when Dzumhur believed his serve at 15-30 had caught the tape and Greg Allensworth did not call a let. The point stood, Fery held his nerve, and the set turned on the next stretch of games.
Dzumhur went to Allensworth straight after the point and asked Fery to look into his eyes and be honest. Fery said he did not stop playing the point. He later used earplugs in the changeovers after the dispute.
Fery’s run from 2-0 down
Fery was 2-0 down in the second set before he reset the match. From there he won the next three sets 6-2, 6-2 and 6-1, and Dzumhur won only three of the next 19 games after the disputed moment.
The 34-year-old responded with a warning from the chair umpire for his protestations, but the momentum had already shifted. Fery said the incident helped him settle into the contest, adding, “To be honest, it probably benefited me in a certain way because I was a bit slow and a bit heavy in my legs” and “So that got the spark ignited in me and I just got myself going.”
Otto Virtanen next
Fery’s reward was a place in the next round against Otto Virtanen, who beat Ben Shelton. For Fery, the result was more than a comeback from a set down; it was the first British man’s passage into the Wimbledon second round and a clean answer after a dispute that hung over the middle of the match.
Dzumhur left with the sharper grievance, but the scoreline told the rest of the story: 3-6, then three straight sets to Fery, and a disputed point that never went the way the Bosnian wanted.
