Coming into Wimbledon, Britain’s Arthur Fery had earned about $329,000 this year on the ATP Tour.
The world’s No. 114-ranked player has now essentially doubled his yearly income with a dramatic run to the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
Fery, the first British wildcard to reach the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam, defeated fellow wildcard Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7) before a capacity crowd of 15,000 on Centre Court to reach the last eight.
He will take home approximately $643,000 for reaching the quarters where he will face No. 9 seed Flavio Cobolli of Italy. Fery is 1-0 against Coboli, having defeated him in the first round of the Australian Open in straight sets.
Should Fery pull off another stunning upset, he would make $1,207,689 for reaching the semifinals.
“I have no words right now,” Fery, 23, said on court. “It’s incredibly tough to put words to what I’ve just felt on a tennis court in front of all you guys. The support was phenomenal.”
He added: “A week ago, I would’ve been happy to win a few matches here, and now winning four matches, being in the quarters, it’s a dream of mine.”
Roger Federer, the 20-time Grand Slam champion and 8-time Wimbledon champ, sat courtside for the match.
“First time on this court. five sets against an absolute legend of the game,” Fery told the crowd. “I grew up 5 minutes from here. We’ve got probably the greatest of all time in the front row watching. I saw him.
“And now playing in front of all you guys, having the support, and winning, it’s just unbelievable.”
Fery came back from two sets to one and a break down in the fourth.
“Yeah, it’s been the story of the tournament for me,” he said. “I was really close to losing my last round as well Again today, I was a break down in the fourth, just trying to keep fighting, having a good attitude, committing to what I’m trying to do on the court and…yet again it paid off today.”
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