Sonay Kartal and Arthur Fery pull off huge upsets on day one at Wimbledon
For Fery, it is by a long distance the biggest victory of his life, with the 22-year-old's only top-100 win before this coming against then 99th ranked David Goffin two years ago.
BIGGEST WIN OF ARTHUR FERY'S CAREER!!! 🔥 @ArthurFery02 fights through to the @Wimbledon second round for the very first time, taking down the No. 20 seed Alexei Popyrin#BackTheBrits 🇬🇧 | #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/NrX6gLdTuW
— LTA (@the_LTA) June 30, 2025
Fery, whose French father Loic owns Lorient football club, was not in the initial batch of wild cards named by the All England Club having seen his ranking drop outside the top 400 because of injury but a strong week at the second-tier Challenger event in Nottingham earlier this month earned him a pass.
He took advantage of it spectacularly to claim a first Wimbledon victory, and he will hope there is more to come with an unseeded opponent up next.
Kartal reached the third round as a qualifier 12 months ago but her hopes of another good run appeared to have been dealt a blow when she drew seasoned grass-court campaigner Ostapenko in round one.
The Latvian is a former semi-finalist and beat Kartal in Eastbourne last week but, after recovering from 5-2 down in the opening set and saving three set points, the 23-year-old also proved the stronger in the decider.
Ostapenko's body language became more and more negative as Kartal opened up a 5-0 lead in the third, and the British star appears to have a good chance of going further with Bulgarian outsider Viktoriya Tomova up next.
It is Kartal's third best win by ranking of her career and her best at a grand slam.
She described the match as one of the toughest she had ever played, saying: 'Typically I struggle against the big hitters. So to be able to do that, get the win in front of the home crowd, I'm super proud of that one.
'She can go through games, even sets, playing tennis that's just unplayable. The pace she gets on the ball and the angle she gets off the ball is honestly unreadable at times.
'I knew that was going to happen. I knew it happened last week. I knew I just had to stay with it. If she was going to go on a good run, just not get too down, and know that hopefully I was going to get my opportunity, and when I got the opportunity, to maximise it the most I could.
'I feel confident. I feel like this is the best I've ever played on grass. It's the most confident I've also got in my game, as well. I think I'm in a pretty good spot for round two.'
Kartal's win was swiftly followed by another notable British success, this time for debutant Oliver Tarvet, who made it four victories in a row after coming through qualifying with a 6-4 6-4 6-4 win over Swiss Leandro Riedi.
Former British number one Cameron Norrie claimed his first win on grass this year with a narrow 6-3 3-6 6-4 7-6 (3) victory over Spanish veteran Roberto Bautista Agut.
Big WIN for @cam_norrie at @Wimbledon 🙌
Cam beats an in-form Bautista Agut to move into the second round#BackTheBrits 🇬🇧 | #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/1Tm79V2KuK
— LTA (@the_LTA) June 30, 2025
Norrie rediscovered his form on clay after almost dropping out of the top 100 and will next take on 12th seed Frances Tiafoe.
Billy Harris was another Briton to progress on day one.
The world number 151 won 6-3 6-2 6-4 against Serbian lucky loser Dusan Lajovic and will face Portuguese Nuno Borges in round two.
British wild card Oliver Crawford clinched the opening set on his SW19 debut before suffering a 6-7 (2) 6-3 6-4 6-4 defeat to Italian world number 73 Mattia Bellucci.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
North Wales Chronicle
24 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Wimbledon briefing: Day two recap, Wednesday's order of play and Brits to watch
Wednesday's schedule sees British qualifier Oliver Tarvet take on defending champion Carlos Alcaraz on Centre Court while Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter are among six other British players in second-round action. Here, the PA news agency looks back at Tuesday's events and previews what is to come on day three of the Championships. The Argentinian twice consulted medical staff for what appeared to be a right leg issue after slipping early in the second set and called it quits trailing 6-2 6-2 2-1. Draper had been in control from the moment the contest started on Court One and, while a short outing in the heat might have seemed optimal, the 23-year-old said: 'I wanted to play a bit longer in all honesty.' Four of the top 10 players in both the men's and women's draw are out the tournament already. Women's second seed Coco Gauff's defeat on Court One on Tuesday night saw her follow Jessica Pegula (seeded three), Zheng Qinwen (five) and Paula Badosa (nine) through the exit door. On the men's side, third seed Alexander Zverev and Lorenzo Musetti (seven) were both beaten the day after Holger Rune (eight) and Daniil Medvedev (nine) were sent packing. Monday's record-breaking seven British winners all return to the court on Wednesday looking to reach the third round. Emma Raducanu faces a tough test against 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova in the prime time slot on Centre Court, while British number two Katie Boulter and number three Sonay Kartal both take on unseeded opponents after headline-grabbing first-round wins. Qualifier Oliver Tarvet has the most eye-catching match against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, while Cameron Norrie will play 12th seed Frances Tiafoe and Arthur Fery and Billy Harris face Italian Luciano Darderi and Portugal's Nuno Borges respectively. Emma Raducanu's second-round clash with Marketa Vondrousova will be a real draw on day three as two former grand slam champions meet at a relatively early stage of the tournament. Raducanu won the US Open aged just 18, prior to which she made her main-draw Wimbledon debut during the same season and beat Vondrousova in a memorable match on her way to the third round. Vondrousova, who won Wimbledon in 2023, comes into the tie in good grass form having won the Berlin Open earlier this month and will be hoping to turn the tables on the British star. Centre Court (from 1.30pm)Aryna Sabalenka (10 v Marie BouzkovaOliver Tarvet v Carlos Alcaraz (2)Emma Raducanu v Marketa Vondrousova Court One (from 1pm)Cameron Norrie v Frances Tiafoe (12)Katie Boulter v Solana SierraTaylor Fritz (5) v Gabriel Diallo Cloudy changing to sunny intervals by lunchtime, with a maximum temperature of 27C, according to the Met Office.
Leader Live
35 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Wimbledon briefing: Day two recap, Wednesday's order of play and Brits to watch
Wednesday's schedule sees British qualifier Oliver Tarvet take on defending champion Carlos Alcaraz on Centre Court while Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter are among six other British players in second-round action. Here, the PA news agency looks back at Tuesday's events and previews what is to come on day three of the Championships. The Argentinian twice consulted medical staff for what appeared to be a right leg issue after slipping early in the second set and called it quits trailing 6-2 6-2 2-1. Draper had been in control from the moment the contest started on Court One and, while a short outing in the heat might have seemed optimal, the 23-year-old said: 'I wanted to play a bit longer in all honesty.' Four of the top 10 players in both the men's and women's draw are out the tournament already. Women's second seed Coco Gauff's defeat on Court One on Tuesday night saw her follow Jessica Pegula (seeded three), Zheng Qinwen (five) and Paula Badosa (nine) through the exit door. On the men's side, third seed Alexander Zverev and Lorenzo Musetti (seven) were both beaten the day after Holger Rune (eight) and Daniil Medvedev (nine) were sent packing. Monday's record-breaking seven British winners all return to the court on Wednesday looking to reach the third round. Emma Raducanu faces a tough test against 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova in the prime time slot on Centre Court, while British number two Katie Boulter and number three Sonay Kartal both take on unseeded opponents after headline-grabbing first-round wins. Qualifier Oliver Tarvet has the most eye-catching match against defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, while Cameron Norrie will play 12th seed Frances Tiafoe and Arthur Fery and Billy Harris face Italian Luciano Darderi and Portugal's Nuno Borges respectively. Emma Raducanu's second-round clash with Marketa Vondrousova will be a real draw on day three as two former grand slam champions meet at a relatively early stage of the tournament. Raducanu won the US Open aged just 18, prior to which she made her main-draw Wimbledon debut during the same season and beat Vondrousova in a memorable match on her way to the third round. Vondrousova, who won Wimbledon in 2023, comes into the tie in good grass form having won the Berlin Open earlier this month and will be hoping to turn the tables on the British star. Centre Court (from 1.30pm)Aryna Sabalenka (10 v Marie BouzkovaOliver Tarvet v Carlos Alcaraz (2)Emma Raducanu v Marketa Vondrousova Court One (from 1pm)Cameron Norrie v Frances Tiafoe (12)Katie Boulter v Solana SierraTaylor Fritz (5) v Gabriel Diallo Cloudy changing to sunny intervals by lunchtime, with a maximum temperature of 27C, according to the Met Office.
Daily Mail
38 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Coco Gauff is OUT of Wimbledon after shock first-round upset by unseeded Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska
Six years after a breakthrough for the ages and one month on from winning the French Open, Coco Gauff wilted to a quite staggering defeat on her first appointment at these championships last night. If we are to contextualise the shock attached to the second seed's exit, and thus the biggest scalp to fall so far from either draw, then it concerns one fact about her conqueror, Dayana Yastremska. The woman is allergic to grass. And yet we might assume the same of Gauff, who since reaching the fourth round here as 15-year-old has failed to go better. This was the sort of day to embed a deep-rooted hatred towards the surface. But that should not detract from Yastremska's achievement. She was brilliant and brutal in equal measure in this 7-6, 6-1 demolition, with the surprise perhaps not as resounding as it seems on first glance. Sure, the Ukrainian had never previously made the second round, but having reached the final in Nottingham a fortnight ago, she arrived on Court No 1 with the spring of a woman who had unlocked the secrets of this quirky form of the game. In doing so, the world No 42 also brought tennis closer to the forefront of an unusual story. For a number of onlookers, her fame has often been traced to her social media activity, and beyond that there was also a doping controversy, from which a positive test was eventually ruled a case of accidental contamination, and an inadvertent race storm. The latter, in 2020, came from a clumsy attempt to show solidarity at the height of the Black Lives Matter protests by painting one half of her body black. It drew an unintended response. Here? She did a better job of judging her circumstances, and in doing so capitalising on the nine double faults and 29 unforced errors of an opponent who won her second Slam just a matter of weeks ago. An illustration of Gauff's difficulties came from the sight of the American sprawled on her back at 5-2 down in the first set, with her legs pointing in opposite directions and her head in a worse state. By then, she had been pummelled by the Yastremska backhand and had failed to hit so much as a single winner of her own. When Yastremska then forced a set point at 5-3, Gauff appeared desperately lost, but that brought on a minor, temporary twist. With such an opportunity in her hands, she gave up two double faults in three points and coughed up the break. If Gauff's corner was pinning hopes on a prolonged collapse, the relief was misplaced – Yastremska stabilised by dominating the subsequent tiebreak and took the Gauff serve immediately at the start of the second set. By this point, Gauff was dumping more forehands into the middle to lower reaches of the net than landing clean hits. Her timing was woefully off; her affiliation with this quirk surface never more stressed. That was emphasised further by a dismal backhand into the net as Gauff went down a second break for 4-1. At 5-1, Gauff had ball in hand again and could not extend the match against a woman giving the performance of her life. It was only the fifth time in 20 attempts that Yastremska had beaten a player in the top 10. That allergy is manifesting itself in strange ways.
