Arthur Fery plays 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 is only the fifth British man to make it though to the semi-finals in the open era.
Starting Wimbledon ranked 114th in the world, Fery’s unexpected breakthrough has captured the attention of the country. He will now face another step up against Zverev, who ended his long wait for a first grand slam title at last month’s French Open, in a match where the start time has been changed to avoid a potential clash with the Spain v Belgium World Cup quarter-final being shown on the BBC this evening.
Later, Djokovic continues his epic quest to win a record 25th grand slam title at the age of 39 as he faces defending Wimbledon champion and world No 1 Sinner in another blockbuster semi-final.
Djokovic won the longest match of his Wimbledon career on Tuesday, beating the third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in a match tiebreak and after an astonishing five hours and 15 minutes.
Djokovic lost to Sinner in straight sets in last year’s semi-finals, but Djokovic beat Sinner in their last meeting at the Australian Open in January, producing one of the greatest performances of this stage of his career to end Sinner’s dominant winning streak in five sets.
Follow latest scores and updates from Wimbledon, below
*Arthur Fery 4-5 Alexander Zverev
Now would be a nice time for another break Arthur.
The Brit tries to go down the line and finds the top of the net handing the first point of the game to Zverev.
The German then miscues a forehand and pings the ball well out of play to make it 15-15.
A wide ace leaves Fery with no chance to return before a second serve from Zverev comes down the T at 122mph and Fery’s return goes long.
Zverev holds.
Arthur Fery 4-4 Alexander Zverev*
Arthur Fery will be pleased with this start. He’s on serve and has learned that he can break Zverev’s powerful serve.
The balls have been changed meaning they’re a little bouncier.
The ball striking from the two men is sharp and strong. Fery gives up the first point of the eighth game but Zverev hands one back by finidng the net.
Fery then wins a point from his serve before Zverev unloads a powerful forehand from just behind the baseline to beat Fery.
A serve and drop shot from the Brit puts him back into the lead and he holds as Zverev fires a return too long.
Encouragement for Fery on the return
Zverev has made 20 of his 26 first serves (77%). Anything around the 80 per cent mark is a very strong figure, but the German has only won 60% of those points, far below his average for the tournament (80%). Zverev has made four aces, and a number of games will fly past Fery, but he’s also made an encouraging start and has got his teeth into all of Zverev’s service games so far.
*Arthur Fery 3-4 Alexander Zverev
A 137mph serve from Zverev is flung back and Fery takes the point by whipping a forehand to the right of the German and spinning it out of reach.
His lead doesn’t last very long as he goes on the attack and just lands a forehand over the baseline.
Zverev closes the door pretty quickly though thanks to his serve. He shoots up to 40-15 before Fery clips the tape of the net on the next serve and the ball dribbles onto the German’s side of court.
Zverev leaves no chance to increase the pressure on himself and rattles a forehand past Fery to hold serve.
Arthur Fery 3-3 Alexander Zverev*
From deuce, Fery takes the next two points and holds serve. He’s doing very well to match the No. 2 seed.
Can he create an opportunity to take control?
*Arthur Fery 2-3 Alexander Zverev
Oh that’s a little insulting. Fery lands a decent serve but Zverev effortlessly swats it into the far left corner of the court and the Brit cannot get back the return shot.
At 30-30, Fery forces Zverev deep and forces an error taking him within a point of holding serve.
He sneds the ball to the German left (backhand) and a rallies develops. It’s one of the longest of the game before a backhand slice from Fery isn’t the best and Zverev moves inside the ball and drives it to the back of the court and past his opponent.
Electric from Arthur Fery!
The footspeed from Fery as he reaches that Zverev volley! He raced up to the net and produced a gorgeous angled pass to squeeze the ball away from Zverev’s reach! Centre Court roars as fans jump from their seats and Fery whirs his arms to encourage even more noise!
*Arthur Fery 2-3 Alexander Zverev
Can Fery respond?
His Wimbledon campaign has been littered with comebacks and he’ll need all the energy and fortitude he’s shown so far.
Zverev comes up to the net having worked Fery to the back left of court. The German drops over a short shot but Fery sprints up court and hits it back forcing a backhand volley into the net from Zverev.
Fery is flying around the court now. Zverev sends him really wide with a volley but he slides up to the ball and flicks it back on an acute angle whcih the German can’t counter.
Wow again!
Zverev goes long and Fery pulls the break back. Incredible.
You can see Alexander Zverev playing with his shoulders back
Arthur Fery rates his backhand above his forehand, and the same can be said of Alexander Zverev, who finds a lot of safety in the two-hander crosscourt.
But this is also a relaxed version of Zverev, after ending his long wait for a grand slam title at last month’s French Open. He is stepping in and taking on his shots
Arthur Fery 1-3 Alexander Zverev*
Fery’s run to the Wimbledon semi-final has been exceptional but he is up against it today. Alexander Zverev is the No.2 and the French Open champion.
So far he’s not found his range (he’s made eight unforced errors already) but that will come in time and Fery must capitalise here while he can.
He goes 15-30 down on his own serve and the crowd raise their level of encouragement.
Zverev blasts a forehand down the line and sets up two breaks points…
… He needs one. Fery finds the net with a backhand and the German breaks the Brit!
