Wimbledon 2026: How Arthur Fery can upset world No.3 Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals

29-year-old Zverev is a 25-time ATP title-winner, a former world No.1 and as of last month, a Roland Garros champion.

The German possesses some serious weapons that the young Brit will have to overcome, but Fery will know that this is also his first Wimbledon semi-final.

Here, we break down the stats and the key areas for Fery if he is to beat Zverev in the final four.

Being effective off the serve 

Wild card Fery isn’t necessarily the biggest server in the world, but the Brit has been very effective with his follow-up.

Fery has won more points on his first shot after his serve (serve +1) than any other player in this year’s men’s singles with 122.

The Brit is rushing his opponents with early pressure, particularly on the backhand side, where he’s won 77 of those points.

Fery will be looking to keep the points short where he can, but knows he has the movement and defensive skills to fight through the longer rallies, where both players have been successful this year.

Playing the big moments

Fery has proved himself a man for the big moment this week, and he’ll have to do the same again in the semi-final.

Facing the German’s huge serve, opportunities are likely to be few and far between. Zverev has only been broken four times this tournament and has hit his first serve on 81% (17/21) break points.

However, Fery will take great confidence in the way he’s played up a level in those key points, converting 50% of break points (25/50) compared to a tournament average of 36%.

The young Briton is also five for five in tie-breaks across his five matches so far, including two match tie-breaks to 10.

Fery has done really well at not letting the occasion get to him so far, and that will be a crucial element if he is to go on and beat Zverev.

Win the battle at the net

One of the standout areas of Fery’s game in the quarter-final win over Cobolli was his willingness to approach the net and attack.

The Briton won 76% (22/29) of points when coming in to volley against the Italian, and he’ll want to build on that foundation up against the German.

However, Zverev’s success rate when coming in has been equally strong – winning 78% (75/96) of net points throughout the tournament.

Fery’s rush approach will have to be on it’s game to beat his opponent into the net and control the points early where he can.

Counter the Zverev serve

Zverev has been one of the best servers in the tournament this past fortnight, and Fery’s return game will need to be on point.

After his quarter-final win, Fery said that he had been working on that area of his game against fast servers, but this will be a whole new test for the world No.114.

So far at Wimbledon, Zverev is averaging just five points per service game – the lowest in the men’s singles draws – and tops the charts for fastest average first and second serve.

Fery has made 70% of his returns in, compared to the draw average 64%, and getting himself into the points is going to be crucial – reducing the number of free points available to Zverev.

One area he might look to target is the forehand. Zverev has made 78 unforced errors on the forehand wing this tournament vs just 50 on the backhand.

How to watch Arthur Fery vs Alexander Zverev in the Wimbledon semi-final

You can watch Arthur Fery vs Alexander Zverev in the Wimbledon semi-finals live exclusively on the BBC, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport.