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Arthur Fery has revealed that his spectacular second week at Wimbledon has been aided by a secret procedure on his nose and the Godfather trilogy as he prepares for the biggest match of his career on Friday, against Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals.
Fery’s run through the draw to meet the French Open champion has included consecutive five-set comebacks against Zizou Bergs and Grigor Dimitrov, winning both matches in final set tie-breaks after trailing, but his earlier matches repeatedly had to be paused after he suffered from nosebleeds.
The 23-year-old revealed that he underwent a nasal procedure in the middle of the tournament after his win over Bergs to cauterise blood vessels in his nose. The nosebleeds have stopped since then, with none coming in his last two wins, over Dimitrov and Flavio Cobolli.
“I had a little procedure four days ago here on [my nose],” he said. “That seemed to help. I’ve also tried to avoid wiping with a towel straight on the nose. I think that was also kind of not helping, so just a combination of things, just a bit of luck as well.
“Just getting the blood vessels cauterised in the nose. A small thing. Nothing major. Didn’t hurt.”
According to the NHS, those who undertake such a procedure should “rest and avoid any strenuous activities and sports for at least two weeks”. Fery will instead spend his sixth day since the nasal procedure battling with the most recent grand slam champion over best of five sets for a place in the Wimbledon final. He has, however, found time to relax off the court.
“I’ve been watching the Godfather,” said Fery. “Bit of a throwback. Never watched it before. Just started it. I’m going to probably be going on to the Godfather 2 tonight.”
Fery said he will watch the Godfather 3 if he advances to the final, which, as he explained to Queen Camilla after his match on Wednesday, will also take place on his 24th birthday. He faces the greatest challenge of his career on Friday in order to do so as he battles the second seed, Zverev.
As a Wimbledon resident from childhood, Fery has had the benefit of an incredibly short commute from his mother’s home in Wimbledon to the All England Club and those home comforts have been beneficial as he has become the second man in history to reach the semi-finals of Wimbledon as a wildcard.
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“I’ve been staying at home, I finished late a few times so I just went home and slept,” he said. “I’ve had a day off every time between my matches. That’s been nice just practising. Had some normal dinners at home with my family and just relaxing there in my own bed. It’s nice to just chuck a movie on and not think about tennis a little bit.”
Another source of motivation has been the various junior trophies and childhood mementoes that surround him in his bedroom: “I have not got pictures of [Andre] Agassi on the wall,” he said. “There’s stuff on the wall that’s been there for a while. My mum moved house in 2018 so this wasn’t my childhood home. The classic, got all my trophies from junior events, the tournament badges, the passes, all that, so some memories in there.”
Fery says he has been “off the hook” regarding having to cook, but he is still helping around the house during his time at home: “I don’t cook but I help with the dishes and everything else obviously. Bit less of that this week. Mum’s cooking. I eat here. No real routine or superstitions. Just doing what feels best at the moment.”
