Wildcard Arthur Fery, the 23-year-old Briton ranked 114th in the world, has become only the second wildcard in Wimbledon history to reach the men's singles semifinals. He defeated ninth seed Flavio Cobolli 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 6-0 on Centre Court on Wednesday, drawing congratulations from the Princess of Wales and the prime minister.
Historic Run Continues
Fery, who grew up five minutes from the All England Club, was visibly stunned after the match. It has been a quarter of a century since Goran Ivanisevic became the first wildcard to win the men's singles title in 2001. Fery is now two wins away from matching that feat.
Before the match, Fery shook hands with Queen Camilla, who later watched from the Royal Box. She congratulated him afterward. “She was waiting for me at the end of the match too, congratulated me. I told her how much of an honour it was for me to play in front of her,” said Fery. “She just said, ‘Congratulations, keep going.’ I told her it was my (24th) birthday on Sunday, so it would be great to play the Wimbledon final on my birthday.”
Dominant Victory
Fery broke Cobolli five times and lost his serve only once. The Italian had earlier beaten Alex de Minaur in straight sets. Fery had previously defeated Cobolli at the Australian Open in January, but that win was against an opponent suffering from a stomach bug. This time, Fery's performance was emphatic. “It just gets better and better every match. Can’t believe it. It’s incredible,” sighed Fery.
Fery had won only two tour-level matches before this year's grass-court campaign. Now he faces French Open champion Alexander Zverev, the No. 2 seed, who overpowered Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 on No. 1 Court.
Zverev Awaits
Zverev snapped a seven-match losing streak against Fritz. “I knew that I had to play an almost perfect match to have a chance and I’m extremely happy to be in the semi-finals especially after beating Taylor, who I hadn’t won against in more than two years,” said Zverev. “I played a fantastic match.”
Addressing the crowd, Zverev said with a smile: “You guys can all be for Fery. It’s totally fine. I understand and I don’t have a problem with it. I hope it’ll be good for me - not so good for everyone else.”
Fery, whose father runs Ligue 1 soccer club Lorient and whose mother was a former tennis pro, moved to Britain as a toddler. He used to walk to watch the Championships as a child. “I’ve always believed in myself and believed that I could be a top player in the world,” said Fery. “Obviously a semi-finalist of Wimbledon is something else. But I’ve taken it match by match, I haven’t looked ahead. I’ve just played every match as it is. Here I am.”
