Arthur Fery will play second seed Alexander Zverev for a place in the Wimbledon final against either Jannik Sinner or Novak Djokovic as the homegrown British wildcard bids to extend his extraordinary run at the Championships.
Fery is the second wildcard in Wimbledon history to reach the semi-finals, following the 2001 champion Goran Ivanisevic, and the 23-year-old only the fifth British man to reach the semi-finals in the open era.
Starting Wimbledon ranked 114th in the world, Fery’s unexpected breakthrough has captured the attention of the tournament and his semi-final against Zverev will following the blockbuster between defending champion Sinner and Djokovic on Centre Court on Friday.
Fery produced his best performance of the fortnight as he raced to victory against ninth seed Flavio Cobolli, winning 6-4 7-6 (4) 6-0 in a stunning straight-sets victory against the Italian, who reached the French Open final last month.
Fery will now face another step up against Zverev, who is through to the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time in his career after ending his long wait for a first grand slam title at last month’s French Open, beating Cobolli in five sets.
When will Arthur Fery play Alexander Zverev in Wimbledon semi-finals?
Fery’s semi-final against Zverev will be the second match to be played on Centre Court on Friday, following the first semi-final between Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner. That will start at 1:30pm BST.
Djokovic’s quarter-final win over Felix Auger-Aliassime took five hours and 15 minutes, and Djokovic and Sinner’s last match at the Australian Open also went to five sets, so there is a good chance this goes long, too.
Fery and Zverev could prepare to take to court by around 5:00pm BST, unless one of Djokovic or Sinner wins in straight sets. It could be even later through if the two favourites for the title go the distance.
Arthur Fery v Alexander Zverev head-to-head
Fery and Zverev have never played before, with the second seed saying he became away of the 23-year-old when he watched Fery’s Australian Open victory against Flavio Cobolli at the start of the year.
”I was very impressed back then already. He has a very clean technique and very clean groundstrokes. I thought he was a very good tennis player already back then.
“We’ll watch some videos, watch some footage, for sure. Again, I think it’s no surprise I didn’t watch loads of him play. I never played with him. But he’s played a fantastic tournament. He absolutely deserves to be in the semi-finals.”
What has Arthur Fery said about Alexander Zverev?
“Obviously I have the crowd behind me here, which is a huge help, especially on Centre Court, when you have so many people pushing me. I’ve been trying to use the crowd to my advantage in important moments, just to add a little pressure maybe to the opponents.
“I’ll try and do that again at moments that feel right on Friday. Zverev is a step up again. I’m ready for it. I have nothing to lose. I’m just going to go out there and just put my game on the court, do what I’ve done, believe in myself. We’ll see where that takes me.”
What has Alexander Zverev said about Arthur Fery?
“It’s maybe a surprise a little bit that he’s in the semi-finals. But I think he deserves it. The wins that he had, the way he fought back in a couple of those matches, is great to see. It’s a great story.
“I’m very happy to play him in the semifinals. I think it’s going to be a great atmosphere. I know that 99 per cent of the people will be cheering for him. But I also enjoy those kind of atmospheres. I enjoy when the energy is very high.
“For me, British crowds, the crowd here at Wimbledon, is always quite fair. They cheer loud, energetic, but they’re still fair. I look forward to that challenge.”
