LONDON (AP) — The “Ferytale” continues at Wimbledon.
Arthur Fery grew up five minutes from the All England Club and now the 114th-ranked player who starred at Stanford is a semifinalist at the grass-court Grand Slam.
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The 23-year-old British player, who needed a wild-card invitation to enter the tournament, beat ninth-seeded Flavio Cobolli 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-0 on Centre Court in front of roaring home fans and a Royal Box contingent that included Britain’s Queen Camilla on Wednesday.
Fery earned a standing ovation after winning the first set. The deafening roar that followed Fery taking the tiebreaker to seal the second set was heard inside Wimbledon’s other main stadium — No. 1 Court, where Alexander Zverev was in the process of beating Taylor Fritz in straight sets.
Fery sealed his historic victory with an ace and fell onto his back to soak in the applause. Moments later, Zverev wrapped up his 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 win to set up a semifinal on Friday against Fery, who was the Pac-10 Singles Player of the Year for Stanford in 2023.
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Fery became just the second player to reach the men’s singles semifinals at Wimbledon as a wild card, after 2001 champion Goran Ivanisevic.
A champagne cork popped in the crowd late in the first set and distracted Cobolli during his service motion. The locals will surely pop a few more with a British player to support in Friday’s semifinal.
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