Arthur Fery has revealed that Alexander Zverev is “always late” to turn up for a match – but admitted the worst example of this was not against the German.
Fery enjoyed a breakout run to the Wimbledon semi-finals this year, as the 24-year-old catapulted himself into the world’s top 40 as a result.
Despite beating the likes of Grigor Dimitrov, Zizou Bergs, and Flavio Cobolli on his way to the last four, the Brit was no match for Zverev, who comfortably beat him in straight sets.
Months on from that encounter, Fery was asked about the 29-year-old being notorious for keeping his opponents waiting before matches. Indeed, back at the 2021 French Open, Zverev was warned for his tardiness prior to his encounter with Oscar Otte.
He then continued that trend before his third-round contest against Laslo Djere, with Eurosport commentator Jo Durie saying at the time, “He’s late again! What is all this faffing about?”
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Five years on, it seems that reputation still hangs over the two-time major winner. Indeed, Fery confirmed as much, but said that he had a worse incident at this year’s Shanghai Masters before his second round loss to Karen Khachanov.
When asked if the French Open champion made him wait before their SW19 match, Fery said on The Changeover Podcast, “He is always late but no, I don’t think he made me wait that much.
“It’s one of those where you get used to it a little bit. In those big tournaments, they call your match and you think you have three minutes to go up there to get ready but actually everyone takes 10 minutes.
“So you have way more time than you think. I didn’t wait for him too much. I actually complained. I never complain about this stuff but in Shanghai I was really pissed because the guy told me a specific time to be at the front by the buggies and I was there on time.
“I waited six minutes before Khachanov turned up so my warmup is basically useless. By the time you get the buggy onto the court, it’s been 10-15 minutes since you warmed up. So it is a bit of a weird rule.”
Both Fery and Zverev, who have played against each other just the once, are in action this week at the Vienna Open.
