Zverev, Berrettini storm into Wimbledon third round as Arthur Fery delights home fans

Alexander Zverev and Matteo Berrettini advanced to the Wimbledon third round with commanding victories, while British wildcard Arthur Fery produced the biggest win of his career by defeating Otto Virtanen to reach the last 32 before an enthusiastic home crowd.

London: Alexander Zverev, the newly crowned French Open champion and the No.2 seed, and Matteo Berrettini breezed into the third round at Wimbledon, securing impressive wins at the All-England Club in London on Thursday.

Zverev, who seems to have taken a lot of confidence from his success at Roland Garros, produced a dominant 6-1, 6-3, 7-6(3) win over Valentin Royer, the world No.75 from France, in two hours and four minutes.

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“For two and a half sets, I played an almost perfect match,” Zverev said after the match. “And then I lost a bit of focus, lost a bit of concentration, and he used it very well. And he made it very interesting in the end, but I was definitely happy to be through in straight sets.

“I’m not old yet, but I’m getting to an age where I think you need to save energy, and I think it also builds confidence when you win easily, when you win in straight sets.

“I think it helps with your confidence, especially for me at Wimbledon. I love this tournament, but I’m still waiting for a big result. And if I continue playing like this, I definitely think it can happen this year.”

Berrettini, the 2021 Wimbledon runner-up, got the better of Arthur Fils at Centre Court, producing multiple aces and a superb performance that left the fans celebrating with him.

The Italian, now ranked No.51, rebounded from the loss of a set to see off the No.20 seed Fils 6-4, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 and is into the third round for the first time since 2023.

Local star Fery in the third round

Meanwhile, local star Arthur Fery booked his passage into the third round of the men’s singles at Wimbledon with the biggest win of his nascent career. The 23-year-old, a former schoolboy educated just down the road from the All England Club, defeated Otto Virtanen 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-3 to become only the fourth British wild card to reach the third round of the men’s singles at Wimbledon since 2000.

Though Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales was in attendance for part of this second-round match, Fery seemed unfazed by his celebrated spectator and added to his recent performances, having reached grass-court finals in Birmingham and Nottingham this summer. Recently, he had knocked out No.4 seed Ben Shelton in his previous match.

But despite winning the first set of this particular contest, Virtanen wasn’t able to impose his big game on his less-experienced rival, who dominated the match after winning the second-set tie-break.

Afterwards, Fery, who has the shortest of commutes in and out of work this week, said: “Playing five minutes from where I grew up, it’s super special. Lots of friends, family, family members, people that I know in the crowd. When I do look around, I always see a familiar face.”