There are comeback stories and then there are comeback stories. Nicolas Jarry has a real comeback tale to tell.

He is through to the fourth round here for the first time in his career and he got there with a 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4) win over Joao Fonseca, the 18-year-old wunderkind from Brazil. Big things are expected of Fonseca in the future.

A year ago, Jarry was No.16 in the world but something was wrong. He reached the Rome Masters final in May of that year but then only won another three tour-level matches throughout the rest of the season.

He had been diagnosed with vestibular neuritis, an inflammation of the vestibular nerve, which connects the inner ear to the brain. The symptoms affected his balance and vision and gave him vertigo. He was at his lowest ebb at the end of last year and life did not improve much at the start of this season.

“It’s been one year of battle, so it’s amazing,” he said, choking back the tears. “I had an issue last year with a nerve in the inner ear. It affected my perception, my balance, my view and I’ve been trying to come back, to work on recovering that part of the body.

“And it’s been very tough physically, emotionally, psychologically. I’ve been trying to get back to my level, trusting myself again. Because it was very tough to lose all the abilities that I’ve been working on since I was five years old. So, it’s amazing to have my best performance here in Wimbledon – it’s my favourite tournament of all.”

When he came to London, he had lost in six consecutive Grand Slam first rounds. Now, with this win over Fonseca, he has won six Wimbledon matches: three in Qualifying and three in the main draw. Life was finally looking up again.

Fonseca played his part in this upturn, too. He did not cut Jarry any slack, no matter how tough the previous 12 months had been for the Chilean, but pushed Jarry and showed everyone just how far down the comeback trail the world No.143 now is. At the end, there were a few warm words between the two men.

Fonseca had said before the match that he hoped a decent Brazilian crowd would find their way to No.2 Court and create a lively atmosphere. They duly arrived with their flags and Brazil football shirts and it did not take long before they were chanting their hero’s name whenever there was even the briefest of breaks in play.

They were doing their bit but, unfortunately for them, their man was unable to reciprocate in the first two sets. He had his chances but Jarry was not to be broken.

What was becoming obvious was that Fonseca would make a terrible poker player.

As his comeback gathered momentum, every winner was celebrated with roars of delight and vigorous fist pumping while points won on the Jarry serve got the full treatment. It was as if he had just scored a goal in the World Cup final. As for missed opportunities and break points wasted, he was either inconsolable or in a raging fury.

Jarry, too, was happy to show his feelings. As Fonseca came back at him in the last three sets, there was much fist pumping and finger pointing in Fonseca’s general direction whenever a break point was saved or another huge ace was bludgeoned away.

But it was at the end of the match that the emotions overflowed. After the year that he had, Jarry could not believe that he was through to the fourth round of Wimbledon for the first time in his life. He went over to his wife and sobbed on her shoulder. He hugged her and their young son for a long time before trying to compose himself for his on-court interview. This was like nothing he could have dreamed of.

“The family – it’s been the key of this last year. To be South American, to be two months, three months away from home, it’s very tough. You get very lonely, lonelier than what tennis is already.

"So, to have them, it’s been amazing since I got married with my wife. Without them, I wasn’t going to be able to recover as fast as I did. It was a long year but I’m here.”

And on Sunday he will be here again. Next on his radar is Cameron Norrie, the world No.61 and Britain’s No.3.

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