GB’s Fery upsets 20th seed Popyrin at Wimbledon

On the opening day of Wimbledon, British wildcard Arthur Fery defeated 20th seed Alexei Popyrin to seal a huge comeback.

The 461st-ranked 22-year-old Fery defeated Masters 1000 champion Popyrin 6-4 6-1 4-6 6-4 to advance to the second round.

After Oliver Tarvet defeated Leandro Riedi on his Wimbledon debut, Fery’s victory came as a Brit’s impressive victory in the men’s draw.

The first round of the Wimbledon men’s and women’s main draw featured 23 British players, the most in 41 years.

Cameron Norrie, the former British number one, advanced, but Oliver Crawford, the wildcard, and Jacob Fearnley, the latter, were eliminated.

Fearnley was defeated by Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca in the first round, which saw his Wimbledon career come to an end.

Fearnley, 23, had never lost a Grand Slam first-round match before, but his 18-year-old opponent outclassed him 6-4 6-1 7-6 (7-5).

Fonseca won his first ATP Tour title in February with the Argentina Open, which was his second victory on grass, but he has impressed with his impressive displays this year. He defeated Andrey Rublev at the Australian Open in January and won the Australian Open in February.

Fearnley has recently experienced a meteoric rise, rising from within the top 500 a year prior to being ranked 51st in the world at this event.

On his way to securing three break points, he had a good overhead volley that had the potential to give him the first set advantage.

Fonseca, who claimed the break himself and served the first set, took the next eight points in a row to turn things around.

In the middle of the afternoon, Norrie’s performance was at its best, but he overcame the difficult circumstances to defeat veteran Spanish tennis player Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3).

The 29-year-old, who is currently British number one, defeated Jack Draper at Wimbledon last year and had previously advanced to the semi-finals, but after that his form deteriorated and he almost lost.

However, with his first win on the grass this year, he has regenerated on the grass and kept that momentum.