A British wildcard writes history
Arthur Fery has turned Wimbledon into the story of his career.
The 23-year-old Briton, ranked 114th in the world before the tournament, reached the men’s semi-finals with a commanding 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-0 win over Flavio Cobolli on Centre Court.
According to The Guardian’s report from Wimbledon, Fery had never previously gone beyond the second round of a Grand Slam. Now he is one win away from the Wimbledon final.
“I’ve always believed in myself and believed that I could be a top player in the world,” Fery said. “Obviously a semi-finalist of Wimbledon is something else.”
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He added: “I’ve taken it match by match. I haven’t looked ahead. I’ve just played every match as it is. Here I am.”
Cobolli had no answer
The result was not just a shock. It was a demolition.
Cobolli, the ninth seed and world No. 10, arrived as the higher-ranked player and the more established name. But Fery handled the occasion with remarkable calm.
According to the LTA’s match analysis, Fery won 22 of 29 points at the net and punished Cobolli’s second serve throughout the match.
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The numbers told the story of the pressure Fery created. Cobolli made 41 unforced errors, while Fery made only 15.
The British wildcard also continued a striking trend by winning another tie-break. He has now won all five tie-breaks he has played at Wimbledon this year, a sign of how well he has handled the biggest moments of his run.
Following Ivanisevic’s path
Fery’s achievement places him in rare company.
Reported by The Straits Times, carrying AFP, he is the first men’s wildcard to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals since Goran Ivanisevic in 2001.
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Ivanisevic went on to win the title that year, creating one of the great stories in Wimbledon history.
Fery is not looking that far ahead.
“I’m not going to speculate too much or think ahead of what that could be like,” he said. “I’m just going to keep thinking ahead about my match on Friday, and then we’ll see how it goes.”
The comparison is unavoidable, but Fery’s run already stands on its own. He is only the second men’s wildcard in the Open Era to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals.
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Zverev waits in the last four
The reward for Fery is a semi-final against Alexander Zverev.
The German second seed booked his own place in the last four with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 win over Taylor Fritz, setting up a meeting between one of the tournament favourites and the surprise home hope.
It is a huge step up in opposition, but Fery has spent the tournament making unlikely results look possible.
He has already beaten Cobolli twice this year, including at the Australian Open, and said that earlier victory helped him believe he could do it again on Wimbledon’s biggest stage.
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Wimbledon has a new home favourite
Fery’s run has captured the crowd because it feels so unexpected.
He is not a long-established star. He did not enter the tournament as a contender. He needed a wildcard just to get into the main draw.
Now he is the last British player standing in singles and one match away from the final.
For Wimbledon, it is the kind of story the tournament always loves: a home player, a packed Centre Court and a run that grows more improbable with every round.
Fery’s next test is his biggest yet.
But after this, nobody will be dismissing him as just a wildcard.
