British tennis player Arthur Fery became the last British singles player standing after Katie Swan, Jacob Fearnley and Jan Choinski all bowed out at Wimbledon on Thursday.
Fery had no idea he was being watched by the Princess of Wales as he kept the flag flying.
The 23-year-old wild card is through to the third round at a Grand Slam for the first time after beating Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen in four sets.
Given that upon Kate's arrival Fery dropped serve for the only time in the match to lose the first set, and then had a nosebleed, it was hard to imagine him getting any tighter.
However, he levelled after a tie-break and in the third set brought up three break points with a superb lob - no mean feat against the 6ft 4in Virtanen - and converted the first to edge ahead for the first time.
A deft Fery volley created another break point, put away by a forehand winner, and an impressive 5-7 7-6 (3) 6-3 6-3 victory was wrapped up in a shade under three hours to set up a third-round meeting with Belgium's Eastbourne winner Zizou Bergs.
Fery, who grew up close to the All England Club, is able to go home and sleep in his own bed after matches, a rare treat for a nomadic tennis professional.
"Yeah, it's really nice," he said. "We don't have that luxury very often. We're always in hotels, Airbnbs or apartments.
"It was awesome playing five minutes from where I grew up, it's super special. Lots of friends, family, people that I know in the crowd.
"When I do look around, I always see a familiar face. I have support from everyone when I'm not playing at home, as well.
"It's been nice staying at home for Queen's, staying at home for Wimbledon now, having family around. Yeah, it's really nice. It feels like I'm at home. And the drive's not long!"
British No 6 Katie Swan has battled back from a career-threatening injury and is now eyeing a place in the top 100 after losing the biggest match of her career.
Swan, the current world No 196, made the most of a wild card by becoming the best-performing Briton in the women's singles.
The 27-year-old marked her first appearance at the All England Club for three years with an opening victory over Irina-Camelia Begu but suffered a 6-1 6-4 second-round defeat to 2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys.
British ranks at Wimbledon dwindled further as Jacob Fearnley fell to a second-round defeat against Spain's Jaume Munar.
The Scot had claimed a first ever five-set victory in the opening round, coming from two sets down to beat Alex Michelsen, but he was unable to back that up against 44th-ranked Munar.
Fearnley had his chances, particularly in a long second set, but Munar was outstanding on serve at the big moments and clinched a 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 victory after two hours and 51 minutes.
Jan Choinski's latest Wimbledon adventure ended after he failed to build on a strong start against 17th seed Frances Tiafoe and lost in four sets.
An excellent grass court campaign for Choinski moved him into the top 100 ahead of his third Championships and made him British No 2, but he become the penultimate home player to exit in the singles at the All England Club after a 4-6 6-2 7-5 6-2 loss.
Former Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini lived up to his dark horse tag with an impressive second-round win over 20th seed Arthur Fils to earn a first Centre Court triumph since 2021.
Berrettini missed out on a maiden Grand Slam title five years ago to Novak Djokovic and had experienced defeats on the main arena at All England Club in recent years to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
Yet buoyed by an entertaining four-set victory over Stan Wawrinka on Tuesday, Berrettini wiped out Fils and sealed success with a classy volley on third match point.
"It was such a nice moment playing against a legend like Stan, Court One, and a match I will definitely remember for the rest of my life, but I also think this one is pretty special on Centre Court," Berrettini said after a 6-4 7-5 3-6 6-3 win.
The Italian will play Grigor Dimitrov next after the Bulgarian fought back tears, saying simply being back on court meant more than the result after an injury-plagued year.
The 35-year-old, whose ranking has fallen to No 146 following a series of injuries, defeated Jakub Mensik 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 7-5 6-3.
The victory came a year after Dimitrov's Wimbledon campaign ended in agony when he tore a pectoral muscle on Centre Court, leaving him unable to finish a fourth-round clash against Jannik Sinner which he was dominating.
"I honestly don't have much to say other than I'm so happy to be back and just play tennis in front of you guys," he said. "For me, I'm very emotional. I'm overwhelmed a little bit."
Second seed Alexander Zverev joined Berrettini and Dimitrov in the third round after he chalked up a 50th tour-level victory on grass with a routine 6-1 6-3 7-6 (7-3) success over Valentin Royer.
Taylor Fritz also wasted little time on court after the sixth seed got the better of compatriot Patrick Kypson in straight sets. He again arrived on court in a stylish Hugo Boss outfit, which was followed by a smoother discarding of his white trousers.
"I took it off slowly in the first round. I kind of actually made a mess of it. It's actually just a lot easier to just rip them off. I saw a video of Frances (Tiafoe) doing it. I was just trying to copy him," Fritz laughed ahead of a third-round meeting with Lorenzo Sonego.
‌Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina brushed aside Caty McNally 6-1 6-2, setting up a third-round meeting with 25th seed Elise Mertens.
Last year's finalist Amanda Anisimova overcame American compatriot ​Sofia Kenin to clinch a 6-2 4-6 7-6 (10-3) win, setting up a third-round clash with 2025 Australian Open winner ‌Madison Keys and Ukrainian 12th seed Marta Kostyuk fought back from a first-set stumble to beat Russian opponent Anna Blinkova 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-3.
Watch the ATP and WTA Tours, live on Your Site or and the , giving Your Site customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost.
