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By the age of 10, Fery’s technical ability had already marked him as one of the most talented youngsters in the country.
He caught the eye of Craig Veal, a coach at the Sutton Tennis Academy, and began working with him alongside French former ATP player Benoit Foucher.
The pair decided he would improve more playing against adults in the UK rather than travelling internationally to compete against his peers.
“[We decided to] let him develop his game and his passion for it, rather than putting a load of pressure on him to get an international ranking,” Veal told The i Paper., external
“When he was 16, he then got his junior ranking up very, very fast compared to a lot of his peers, because he was ready to play.”
Once Fery did start playing internationally, he won World Tennis Junior singles and doubles titles, and reached 12 in the world rankings.
At the Slams, he never went past the third round in the boys’ singles, but reached the semi-finals in the Australian Open and Wimbledon doubles.
A smooth transition to the professional ranks was not guaranteed – so he had an alternative plan.
