Bergs outplayed Fery with a mix of vicious forehand winners and deft drop shots to claim the opening set.

However, after dropping serve first in the second set, Fery finally found his rhythm and capitalised on the rising number of mistakes by the 6ft 1in Belgian.

The momentum shifted midway through the third set as Bergs won six games in a row and raced to a 4-1 lead in the fourth.

Backed by a raucous crowd, the French-born Briton dug deep to claw his way back and take the match to a deciding set and keep his dreams alive.

Hopes dwindled as Bergs once again moved 4-1 up in the fifth set before Fery produced one final fightback to force a tie-break, which he sailed through as the crowd’s belief carried him over the finish line.

“With that support, it is unbelievable. I requested to play on this court and the club made it happen which was awesome,” Fery said.

“I was down for pretty much the whole match, managed to scramble back from two breaks and 4-1 in the fifth, and just tried to put up as much of a fight as I could.”