Arthur Fery’s incredible Wimbledon dream continued on Wednesday as the British card became only the second-ever men’s team in history to reach the Wimbledon semifinals, equaling Goran Ivanisevic’s feat in his memorable 2001 title run.The 23-year-old, who grew up five minutes from the All England Club, impressed on Center Court by ousting ninth seed Flavio Cobolli 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-0 to keep alive one of the best home runs the Championship has seen.Being number 114 in the world and wanting to enter the competition, the magical Fery has quickly been dubbed “Ferytale” as Britain finds itself with a real home rival in the second week.
Fery joins Ivanisevic in Wimbledon legends
The only other player to win a Wimbledon title was Goran Ivanisevic, whose legend culminated in the title in 2001. Fery is now just two wins away from claiming one of the tournament’s underdog titles.“It gets better every match,” an emotional Fery said after the win. “I can’t believe it.”Supported by the Center Court deaf crowd and watched from the Royal Box by Queen Camilla, Fery produced one of the best performances of her career. He committed just 15 unforced errors compared to Cobolli’s 41 and sealed a memorable victory with an ace before collapsing on his back in celebration.He said: “That last game, I felt a feeling that I had never experienced in my life.The win came after another memorable Center Court performance earlier in the week, as Roger Federer watched Fery defeat Grigor Dimitrov in a thrilling five-game set.The royal support extended to the game as Queen Camilla praised the British star, while Princess Kate also praised her “success” on social media.Fery, who turns 24 on the men’s final day, also described the end of a dream.“I told him it was my birthday on Sunday, so it would be great to play the Wimbledon final on my birthday,” he revealed after speaking to Queen Camilla.Standing in his way is second seed Alexander Zverev, who admitted he was nervous about what awaited him.“I know 99% of people will be happy with him,” Zverev said. “But I also enjoy this kind of atmosphere.”
Another Wimbledon semifinal proved it
Zverev booked his Wimbledon title with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 win over Taylor Fritz and will face Fery on Friday. The other men’s semifinal will feature seven Wimbledon champions Novak Djokovic against defending champion Jannik Sinner.In the women’s singles, Marta Kostyuk advanced to her first Wimbledon semifinal after defeating Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-2. She will face Czech teenager Linda Noskova, who beat Elise Mertens 6-3, 7-5 to reach her first Grand Slam final.The other women’s semi-finals will see Coco Gauff meet Karolina Muchova in Saturday’s final.