London: British wildcard Arthur Fery extended his sensational Wimbledon run into a semi-final against French Open champion Alexander Zverev, after Marta Kostyuk set up a women’s last-four clash against Linda Noskova Wednesday.
Fery, the world number 114, dismantled Roland Garros runner-up Flavio Cobolli 6-4, 7-6 (7/4), 6-0 to become the first Wimbledon wildcard to reach the men’s last four since Goran Ivanisevic won the 2001 title. Incredibly, Fery is just two victories away from emulating Ivanisevic and becoming the first British man to win Wimbledon since Andy Murray in 2016. “It gets better and better every match. It’s incredible.
I just can’t believe it,” Fery said to his adoring new fans, who created a partisan atmosphere on Centre Court. He is the third-lowest ranked man since 1985 to reach the Wimbledon semis, after world number 237 Vladimir Voltchkov in 2000 and world number 125 Ivanisevic in 2001.
Zverev romped to a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 victory over sixth seed Taylor Fritz, making his first semi-final at the All England Club by snapping a seven-match losing streak against the American. The German second seed had never got past the Wimbledon last 16 in nine previous trips to south-west London.
“I’m extremely happy to be in the semifinals, especially against Taylor who I hadn’t beaten in two years,” he said. Zverev is only the third German man in the Open era to make the last four at all the Grand Slam tournaments, after Boris Becker and Michael Stich — Germany’s last men’s Wimbledon winner in 1991.
“It’s a dream come true to finally play well at Wimbledon, I’ve waited a long time for it,” he added. The 29-year-old Zverev will be a huge favourite against Fery on Friday, with reigning champion and world number one Jannik Sinner or Novak Djokovic awaiting in the final.
