Arthur Fery grew up just a short walk away from Wimbledon but there is much more to his story than simply the confines of SW19.
The British men’s number three was born just outside Paris to his French parents before the family moved to Wimbledon when he was still in nappies.
After coming through the Lawn Tennis Association system, the 23-year-old then moved to Stanford University in California to study for a degree in science, technology and society – and sharpen his game in a tennis scholarship.
Now Fery is back on his doorstep and enjoying the biggest success of his career.
The world number 114 is left carrying British hopes at the All England Club this year after becoming the sole home player to reach the third round of the singles.
“I grew up coming to the tournament, watching the players and that definitely contributed to my development,” Fery told BBC Sport.
“I was trying to imitate players – like you did when you’re a kid. Now I’m here winning matches. It’s awesome.”
Fery’s mother, Olivia, is a French former Fed Cup player, who used to work for the LTA as a business development manager, while father Loic is an asset manager who owns Ligue 1 football club Lorient.
Many summer holidays have been spent at the family’s second home near La Rochelle on the west coast of France, while he also spent time with other relatives near Nice – an area packed with courts and academies – to hone his tennis talent.
Fery briefly represented France when he was about 10 before starting to play for Britain shortly after.
After that, he says, there was “no question” that he would go on to represent Britain in the professional ranks.
“By that point, there was really no decision to make. I was living here, I was training at the National Tennis Centre. I was in the system here,” he said.
“I feel completely British now. Maybe 10 years ago if you’d asked me the question, it would be a bit different. Now I feel very British at heart.”
