Wimbledon 2026: British wildcard Arthur Fery battles Alexander Zverev for final spot

Fery's fairytale run

Having survived five-set comebacks against Zizou Bergs and Grigor Dimitrov in earlier rounds, British wildcard Arthur Fery dismantled ninth seed Flavio Cobolli 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-0 on Centre Court on Wednesday. The 23-year-old world No 114 became the first wildcard to reach the Wimbledon men's semifinals since Goran Ivanisevic won the title in 2001. After shaking hands with Queen Camilla in the Royal Box, Fery said:

I told her it was my birthday on Sunday, so it would be great to play the Wimbledon final on my birthday.

Ranked outside the top 300 a year ago, Fery will now rise to a career-high No 36 and overtake Cameron Norrie as British No 1.

Zverev's serve and resilience

Second seed Alexander Zverev ended a seven-match losing streak against Taylor Fritz with a clinical 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 victory, reaching his first Wimbledon semifinal after nine attempts. Zverev's first serve averaged 131.7 mph, his second 115 mph, and he fired eight aces in the opening set.

I knew I had to play a flawless match, a perfect match and I think I did that.

Fritz, who had previously dominated the matchup, acknowledged Zverev's form:

Zverev is going to be incredibly tough to beat with how well he's serving.

Zverev is only the third German man to reach the semifinals at all four Grand Slams.

Centre Court collision

The Fery-Zverev showdown will follow the Sinner-Djokovic semi, which begins at 1:30 pm BST on Friday. Should the first match go long, Fery and Zverev may not walk on court until around 5:00 pm. Zverev acknowledged the partisan atmosphere:

I know that 99 per cent of the people will be cheering for him. But I also enjoy those kind of atmospheres.

The two have never played before, and Zverev first noticed Fery in his Australian Open first-round win over Cobolli earlier this year.

He has a very clean technique and very clean groundstrokes. I thought he was a very good tennis player already back then.

Other semifinals

Defending champion Jannik Sinner faces record 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic in the other men's semifinal. In the women's draw, Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk crushed Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-2 to set up a semifinal with Czech Linda Noskova.

Historic opportunity

Should Fery reach Sunday's final, he would play for the title on his 24th birthday, emulating Ivanisevic's legendary wildcard triumph. He is the fifth British man to reach the last four in the Open era, and the lowest-ranked Wimbledon semifinalist since Vladimir Voltchkov (No 237) in 2000.

It gets better and better every match. It's incredible. I just can't believe it.

1. Jul 8, 2026Quarterfinals: Fery beats Cobolli 6-4 7-6 6-0; Zverev beats Fritz 6-4 6-4 6-2
2. Jul 10, 05:00 PMSemifinal: Fery vs Zverev on Centre Court (expected start approx 5pm BST)
3. Jul 12, 02:00 PMMen's singles final (Fery's 24th birthday if he advances)