Belief that he can mix it with the best has carried Arthur Fery to the Wimbledon semi-finals and the young British player will keep that mentality when he faces Alexander Zverev on Friday.
Fery began the tournament as a wild card ranked 114 but five wins later finds himself in the rarefied air of the last four with only French Open champion Zverev, world number one Jannik Sinner and 24-time major winner Novak Djokovic for company.
Logic and history suggests Fery should not be there, but the 23-year-old has embraced Centre Court as his stage and is relishing the chance to take on second seed Zverev.
“Zverev is a step up again,” he said. “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.”
Fery is only the second wild card to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals after Goran Ivanisevic, whose famous run to the title in 2001 came a year before Fery was born.
But Ivanisevic was a three-time former finalist who had slipped down the rankings and Fery’s achievement as an up-and-comer making such a breakthrough is unprecedented in the men’s game.
Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska reached the French Open final last month after a similar run, while Fery has also taken inspiration from Emma Raducanu’s stunning US Open triumph five years ago.
“My memory of it was that it was impressive how she didn’t let the occasion get to her,” said Fery, who is looking to match only Andy Murray in the open era by reaching the men’s singles final at SW19.
“She would just keep going match after match, playing well, beating top players. It’s very tough to do when you’re not used to being on such a big stage. I’ve been trying to do that, as well.”
Fery was not on the practice schedule at Wimbledon on Thursday, with the local resident admitting after his brilliant straight-sets victory over Flavio Cobolli that his run, which included fifth-set tie-break wins against Zizou Bergs and Grigor Dimitrov, has taken its toll.
He said: “I feel mentally tired, physically. That’s been the case for the past five days.
“That’s also something that’s really grown my confidence. I now feel like I can play even when I’m tired, even when I’m stressed. In any conditions, I feel confident in my game and I know that I can just go out there and compete.”
Fery will need to be right at the top of his game if he is to have any chance of troubling Zverev, who has only dropped two sets and is carrying the confidence of finally having won his first slam title at Roland Garros.
Zverev has struggled with pressure during his career, often becoming passive at big moments, and Fery will hope the German’s status as overwhelming favourite, plus the influence of the home crowd, can be enough to unsettle him.
But Zverev, who is also enjoying his best Wimbledon, said: “I think people maybe overthink it. It’s just another tennis match. Of course, it’s a big match. It’s a Wimbledon final on the line.
“But, at the end of the day, I’ve learned that a tennis match is a tennis match. Nobody will die. Their lives will not be drastically changed. I’ll just try to play my best tennis. There’s nothing more to it.”
Fery’s run means he will soar to at least 36 in the rankings on Monday, overtaking Cameron Norrie as British number one, while he is guaranteed £900,000 in prize money.
Zverev first watched Fery when he beat Cobolli at the Australian Open in January, adding: “I was very impressed back then already. He has a very clean technique and very clean ground strokes. I thought he was a very good tennis player.
“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.”
Much has been made of Fery’s French heritage, with his father Loic a significant figure in sport across the Channel as the president and former owner of top-flight football club Lorient.
Fery was born near Paris but grew up playing tennis in Wimbledon and, in an interview with l’Equipe, his father said: “I am as proud today as when I went to watch him play when he was four or six.
“People often said that he was the ‘son of’. I am delighted to become the ‘father of’.”
