Arthur Fery, a 23-year-old British wildcard ranked 114th in the world, has continued one of Wimbledon's most remarkable stories by reaching the men's singles semifinals, where he will face French Open champion Alexander Zverev on Friday. Fery dismantled Flavio Cobolli — the runner-up at Roland Garros — 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-0 on Centre Court on Wednesday, becoming only the second wildcard player ever to reach the Wimbledon men's semifinals. The first was Goran Ivanisevic, who went on to win the title in 2001. Fery is also the third-lowest ranked man since 1985 to reach this stage at the All England Club, a storied grass-court venue in southwest London that hosts the oldest and most prestigious tennis Grand Slam.
Fery, who grew up a five-minute walk from the Wimbledon grounds, has now beaten Cobolli twice in Grand Slams, having also defeated the Italian at the Australian Open earlier this year. Speaking on court after the match, he could barely contain his disbelief. "I can't believe it. It's incredible — it's only the second time I've played on Centre Court, and I've won both times," he said. He also revealed that Queen Camilla, watching from the Royal Box, congratulated him after the match. "I told her it was my birthday on Sunday, so it would be great to play the Wimbledon final on my birthday," Fery said, turning 24 this weekend. Victory in the semifinal would make him the first British man to reach the Wimbledon final since Andy Murray won the title in 2016.
Zverev, the German second seed, booked his place in the last four with a commanding 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 victory over American sixth seed Taylor Fritz — ending a seven-match losing streak against him. The 29-year-old had never previously advanced beyond the Wimbledon fourth round, and becomes only the third German man in the Open era to reach the semifinals of all four Grand Slams, after Boris Becker and Michael Stich. Fritz was also reported to be hampered by a knee injury. "It's a dream come true to finally play well at Wimbledon," Zverev said. The winner of their semifinal will face either world number one Jannik Sinner or 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, who meet in the other men's semifinal.
In the women's draw, Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk reached her first Wimbledon semifinal with a brisk 6-3, 6-2 dismissal of Jasmine Paolini, the 2024 Wimbledon finalist, in just 69 minutes on Centre Court. The 24-year-old 12th seed has been in outstanding form since April, winning titles in Rouen and Madrid and reaching the French Open semifinals last month. She will face Czech ninth seed Linda Noskova on Thursday. The 21-year-old Noskova, who had survived a match point in the third round, beat experienced Belgian 25th seed Elise Mertens 6-3, 7-5, reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal after also claiming a WTA title in Berlin during the grass-court swing. Kostyuk won their only previous meeting, in the Madrid Open quarterfinals earlier this year.
The Fery story, already being dubbed a "Ferytale" in the British press, carries particular resonance given how rare his achievement is. Should he defeat Zverev, he would become the first British men's Wimbledon champion since Murray nine years ago — and would do so as a wildcard, a feat not accomplished since Ivanisevic's legendary 2001 triumph. For Kostyuk and Noskova, both first-time Wimbledon semifinalists, there is equally historic ground at stake: the winner will meet either two-time Grand Slam champion Coco Gauff or Czech 10th seed Karolina Muchova in Saturday's final.