2 months ago
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British wildcard Arthur Fery produced a huge upset on the opening day of Wimbledon by knocking out 20th seed Alexei Popyrin.
The 22-year-old Fery is ranked 461st in the world and arrived at this tournament having never won a professional tour-level match before.
However, he stunned Masters 1000 champion Popyrin 6-4 6-1 4-6 6-4 to secure his place in the second round.
Fery's victory followed another impressive win for a Brit in the men's draw, after qualifier Oliver Tarvet beat Leandro Riedi on his Wimbledon debut.
Frey and Tarvet are among 23 British players who featured in the first round of the men's and women's main draw at Wimbledon - the most in 41 years.
Former British number one Cameron Norrie also progressed, but British number two Jacob Fearnley and wildcard Oliver Crawford were knocked out.
Crawford was beaten by Italian world number 73 Mattia Bellucci 6-7 (7-2) 6-3 6-4 6-4.
Fearnley saw his Wimbledon tournament ended in the first round as he was beaten by Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca.
Fearnley, 23, had never lost an opening-round match at a Grand Slam before but was outclassed by his 18-year-old opponent 6-4 6-1 7-6 (7-5)
This was only Fonseca's second victory on grass but he has caught the eye this year with a number of impressive performances, beating Andrey Rublev at the Australian Open in January and then winning his first ATP Tour title in February with the Argentina Open.
Fearnley has enjoyed his own meteoric rise in recent times, climbing from outside the top 500 just over a year ago to arriving at this tournament 51st in the world.
He had looked set to grab the first-set advantage, hitting a fine overhead volley on his way to securing three break points.
But Fonseca took the next eight points in a row to turn the match on its head, claiming the break himself and then serving out for the first set.
Fearnley had no answer for Fonseca in a damaging second set that lasted just 23 minutes and although he put up more of a fight in the third, the teenager edged the tie-break to progress.
It was a gruelling start in the heat at Wimbledon, which recorded its hottest-ever opening day as temperatures surpassed 32C.
Norrie was in action at its peak in the middle of the afternoon but he came through the tough conditions to beat Spanish veteran Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-3).
The 29-year-old beat the current British number one Jack Draper at Wimbledon last year and previously reached the semi-finals, but his form dipped after that and he almost dropped out of the top 100.
But he has been revitalised on grass and continued that momentum with his first win on the grass this year.
He next faces 12th seed Frances Tiafoe.
