Britain’s Arthur Fery continued his outstanding Wimbledon run with a thrilling five-set comeback victory over Grigor Dimitrov to reach the quarter-finals and make history.

Fery has been the only British player left in either singles draw since the second round and kept home hopes alive with a dramatic 7-5 3-6 4-6 6-4 7-6 (10-7) victory in front of an enraptured Centre Court.

The world number 114, making his debut on Wimbledon’s biggest stage just a short walk from where he grew up, showed remarkable character and resilience throughout to achieve the biggest win of his career.

Fery secured that by holding his nerve to clinch a deciding 10-point tie-break, having twice fought back from a break of serve down in the fourth set.

The 23-year-old is the first British wildcard to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final and the lowest-ranked player to reach the men’s last eight at Wimbledon for 12 years.

“I couldn’t have imagined it,” said Fery.

“A week ago I would have been happy to win a few matches here.

“To win four and be in the quarter-finals, it’s a dream.”

At the end of it all, Fery stood on Centre Court with his hands on his hips, shaking his head in sheer disbelief as the crowd rose to their feet.

Swiss great Roger Federer, watching from the Royal Box, was among the thousands inside Wimbledon’s centre stage living each point of a captivating conclusion.

Such theatre had appeared unlikely when Dimitrov, having turned the match in his favour following a superb opening set by Fery, twice took the lead in the fourth set.

But Fery – as he has done all week – refused to be put away and leapt into the air in celebration after forcing a decider.

“It’s been the story of the tournament for me, I was really close to losing in the last round and again today,” said Fery.

“A break down in the fourth, just trying to keep fighting, have a good attitude and it paid off.

“I played really well with my back against the wall and it paid off today.”

Former world number three Dimitrov was aiming to reach the quarter-finals after his previous bid ended in tears on this exact stage 12 months ago, when he retired injured while leading eventual champion Jannik Sinner by two sets.

But Fery never flinched, even as the tension and expectation ramped, becoming just the sixth British player in the Open era to reach the Wimbledon men’s singles quarter-finals.

Having never previously gone beyond the second round at a major, Fery will now face Italian ninth seed Flavio Cobolli for a place in the semi-finals on Wednesday.

This moment of success was something Fery had dreamt of for a long time.

He was born in Paris to French parents – his mother, Olivia, was a professional tennis player – but his family relocated to Wimbledon when he was young, and his drive to become a professional player was fostered by coming to watch matches on Centre Court.

Fery delayed his transition to the ATP Tour to pursue a degree in science, technology and society at Stanford University in California, having developed in the LTA system.

But he also had his progress hindered by injuries – including bone bruising in his arm which, he says, left him experiencing “doubts and dark moments”.

He recovered from those challenging times to play consistently over the past two seasons, reaching the second round at Wimbledon last year and at January’s Australian Open.

But on Monday night he announced himself at his home slam in spectacular fashion.

He is now set to catapult into the world’s top 70, as well as securing at least £480,000 in prize money by reaching the quarter-finals.