Alexander Zverev is expecting to be up against “99 per cent” of the Wimbledon crowd when he faces Arthur Fery in Friday’s semi-final.
The second seed will play the British wildcard in the semi-finals after the world No 114 maintained his stunning run by beating the ninth seed Flavio Cobolli in straight-sets.
Zverev, who is also through to his first Wimbledon semi-final, won last month’s French Open to end his long wait for a grand slam title and ended his losing streak against Taylor Fritz in the quarters.
Zverev faced Cameron Norrie in straight-sets on Centre Court in the third round of Wimbledon two years ago, and will now face the new home hope in wildcard Fery on Friday.
“I’m very happy to play him in the semi-finals,” Zverev said. “I think it’s going to be a great atmosphere. Of course, 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.
“Im almost 30 years old. I’ve been on tour for long enough. I feel like I’ve seen the most hostile crowds, I’ve seen tough crowds, I’ve seen unfair crowds as well. I feel like I should know how to handle it, I’ve learned how to handle it.
“I always feel like the English crowd here, especially in London, they’re always quite fair. Yes, they can be loud, they can be cheerful, but that’s okay. I don’t mind it at all. So I just look forward to a tough challenge in the semi-finals of a slam.”
Fery is set to rise to No 36 in the rankings after becoming the first wildcard to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals since the 2001 champion Goran Ivanisevic. Fery was ranked outside the world’s top 300 this time last year, but is now just the fifth British man to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals in the open era.
Zverev said he first saw Fery play when the French-born Londoner defeated Cobolli in the first round of the Australian Open as a qualifier earlier this season, in what was Fery’s first main draw win at a grand slam outside of Wimbledon.
“I was very impressed back then already,” Zverev said. “He has a very clean technique and very clean groundstrokes. I thought he was a very good tennis player already back then.
“Of course, 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.”
Fery, meanwhile, said he is expected a “step up” against Zverev. But the wildcard feels he is ready for another big stage after so far handling the pressure of his breakout run to the Wimbledon semi-finals.
“I’m ready for it,” Fery said. “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.”
