Wimbledon 2026: Arthur Fery’s dream run ends in semi-finals to Alexander Zverev
• 3 minute read
Arthur Fery’s incredible Wimbledon run came to an end in the semi-finals at the hands of second seed and Roland Garros champion Alexander Zverev.
The British wild card lost out to the world No.3 7-6(0), 6-2, 6-4 in two hours and 15 minutes in front of a packed-out Centre Court.
Zverev will meet either seven-time champion Novak Djokovic or last year’s winner Jannik Sinner in Sunday’s final from 16:00.
“It’s amazing,” Zverev said. “This Grand Slam has always been the one I’ve struggled with the most and all of a sudden I’m in the final of Wimbledon. I’m incredibly happy and proud. We have one more match to go on Sunday.”
It’s been a breakthrough fortnight for Fery, who came into the tournament ranked No.114 in the world.
The 23-year-old from Wimbledon became only the second wild card to reach the final four at The Championships and the fifth British man to reach this stage of the home Grand Slam in the Open Era.
His wins over Damir Dzumhur, Otto Virtanen, Zizou Bergs, Grigor Dimitrov and Flavio Cobolli have seen him rise inside the top-40 for the first time at a career-high of world No.36 in the live rankings.
On Monday, he will overtake Cam Norrie to become British No.1 for the first time in his career.
This career-changing run will allow the young Brit to make the step up to a full-time ATP Tour schedule, including main draw entry into the ATP Masters 1000 events during the hard court swing, as well as the US Open.
After the match, Zverev was full of praise for the British wild card and expects to see Fery for many more years to come.
“I have to give credit to two things, first of all Arthur – unbelievable player,” he said. “I think he’s going to be a senior citizen on our tour. I think he’s going to play on the tour for 15+ years and is going to have great results.
“This was just the beginning of his career. I really think he’s going to do amazing things in this sport.
“I know that 99.99% of the stadium wanted Arthur to win, but it was such an incredible atmosphere and a fair crowd as well. I enjoyed every second.”
It was always going to be a tough challenge for the Brit and Fery more than held his own in the opening set against the French Open champion and former world No.1.
Zverev made four unforced errors on Fery’s opening service game, but turned it up a level the second time around.
The German nailed a backhand winner down the line to set up the first break points of the match, only for Fery to hit the net on the following point – handing a 3-1 advantage to Zverev.
Fery hit back straightaway, overturning the break at the first time of asking and then held all the way through to a tie-break.
However, it was a faultless tie-break from Zverev – a combination of big first serves and fierce returns helped the world No.3 win seven straight points to edge the opening set.
Zverev went on the offence again early in the second set. At 1-1, 0-30, Fery was forced to replay a point that he had won after a ball kid moved during the rally. The German responded with a return winner and eventually won the game to love.
He went on to clinch the double break and served it out comfortably to move just one set away from a first Wimbledon final.
Despite breaking Zverev in the opening set, Fery was unable to create any further opportunities against his opponent's serve. The second seed only lost a total of five points behind his serve in the second and third sets, showing the level that has taken him to 25 career ATP titles.
Zverev broke the Briton for a fourth time at 2-2 in the third, which ultimately proved the end for Fery’s Wimbledon campaign.
The Briton held from 0-40 down at 4-2, but Zverev’s intensity never wavered. Adding to his match total of 44 winners, Zverev cruised through the remainder of the contest on serve, punishing his ticket to a maiden Wimbledon final.
