Zizou Bergs moved within sight of the next round at Wimbledon after edging away from Arthur Fery in a gripping third-round match, leading 4-1 in the fifth and final set after Fery had already dragged the contest into a decider.
That made the live update matter now: Fery, described in coverage as GB's last singles hope, was still in the match after a 2-6, 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (7-3) battle that had turned on the fourth set. He had been two breaks down while trailing 4-1 there, then got one break back and forced a tiebreak, only for Bergs to rebuild control when the decider began.
The scoreline told the rest of the story. Bergs had taken the opening set 6-2, Fery answered 7-5, Bergs took the third 6-2, and Fery survived the fourth on a 7-6 (7-3) tiebreak before the fifth set began to slip away. At one point in the match, Fery pounced on a slow second serve from Bergs and smashed away a winner for 30-0, a flash of resistance that showed how quickly the momentum could change.
The live page was carrying more than this one match. Iga Swiatek was beaten by Alexandra Eala, Elena Rybakina was also out, Alexander Zverev won, Amanda Anisimova was beaten by Madison Keys, and Serena Williams withdrew from doubles with Venus because of a knee injury. But for British supporters watching the court where Fery was playing, this was the match that still felt live in every sense.
The unanswered question is the one that mattered most once Bergs went 4-1 up: whether Fery could find one more surge and complete the comeback. He had already shown he could recover from a bad position, but the fifth set asked for one more answer, and at that stage Bergs was the player controlling the match.
