It’s been a good summer to be the world No 114. First Maja Chwalinska produced one of tennis’ great fairytale stories to reach the French Open final as a qualifier, winning nine matches in a row to get there; then Britain’s Arthur Fery embarked on a similarly unpredictable run to the Wimbledon semi-finals as a wildcard.
But while Fery’s magical run has stolen the headlines and the hearts of punters around Wimbledon, it stands in stark contrast to the overall performance of the home nation. Only a week before the wildcard’s astonishing win over Grigor Dimitrov in a five-set thriller, Britain endured its worst-ever opening day at Wimbledon, with 10 defeats from 10 matches.
