Arthur Fery’s glorious Wimbledon run came to an abrupt end as he was schooled by second seed Alexander Zverev in his maiden grand slam semi-final, with the world No 3 winning 7-6(0) 6-2 6-4.
World No 114 Fery was only the second wildcard to reach this stage at Wimbledon, after 2001 champion Goran Ivanisevic, and has catapulted himself up the rankings to the top 40 after a superb run at the tournament he grew up 10 minutes away from.
But he could not recreate the Croat’s heroics, or produce another improbable escape, this time. Having seen off former Wimbledon semi-finalist Grigor Dimitrov and recent French Open runner-up Flavio Cobolli, the latter in three imperious sets, he ran out of room against Roland-Garros champion Zverev.
After Cobolli Zverev represented another step up in class, with the German high on confidence after finally winning a grand slam and breaking new ground at Wimbledon, having previously never gone beyond the fourth round.
But it was the second seed who was more error-prone in the opening stages, double-faulting for 30-30 and surviving two deuces in his first service game, while he looked tight on his always edgier forehand wing. Fery held to love in response but came unstuck in his next service game, making unusual errors under pressure as Zverev attacked his second serve, with the second seed’s enormous wingspan making him difficult to get past.
But Fery produced some of the magic he has become known for to break back, playing a superb backhand return before racing to a Zverev drop shot, replying with a stunning angled passing shot which flashed across the net, and which the German could only scoop up and wide. Fery leapt for joy and punched the air to a huge round of applause, and Zverev hit long in the next rally to concede the break and send the crowd leaping to their feet too.
The break back settled Fery, who stayed in touching distance and forced a tiebreak. But having rarely put a foot wrong in the opening set things then unravelled. His inexperience at this level told as he opened with a double fault before a rare forehand error left him shaking his head, while Zverev went on the attack, his serve in full flow. A punchy cross-court return sealed an emphatic 7-0 tiebreak, while Centre Court, and Fery, fell flat.
Fery lost the first set in each of his first three matches here, and fought back from losing positions in all but one of his previous rounds. It rapidly became clear that doing so again here would be a significantly harder task.
Zverev has become a different, more energised player since that French Open win: more willing to go on the attack and finally converting his swagger off-court into confidence on it. He broke to love before backing up his break with a hold to love, and continued to punish Fery from the baseline. At 3-1 he hit a superb forehand passing shot which just skimmed the line past a despairing Fery, and the Brit hit long to fall a double break down.
Usually fired up, Fery’s head dipped, while he was irritated several times by a lack of let calls by the umpire. The Centre Court crowd felt limp too, reviving somewhat as Fery served at 5-1 down, desperately trying to inject some life into their man as two double faults – the second on his advantage – threatened to bring an end to the set.
He recovered to hold with a tidy cross-court backhand, a rare case of him imposing himself in a baseline exchange, but Zverev held with ease – having only dropped three points on serve in the entire set – to close out a two-set lead.
Fery went off court to reset and returned to a huge cheer, but it was hard to ignore the growing sense of the inevitable. His shot selection and clarity, particularly at the net, where he was so impressive against Cobolli, wasn’t quite there. The pressure on him was enormous: he was outgunned and outflanked, overpowered from the baseline and attacked from all angles.
The 23-year-old dug himself out of a hole at deuce in his first service game but was broken to love for 3-2, fighting and scrapping in each rally but unable to find a response to a 123mph forehand Zverev lashed into the corner. One desperate chant of “Let’s go Arthur, let’s go” as he fell 0-30 down again was met with a muttered “Let’s go home” from a punter near the press box.
A big cheer greeted an ace out wide, and the roof nearly lifted off as Fery slid around the court chasing down drop shots, planting a lovely passing shot beyond the German. Two fierce aces sealed the hold, the will to fight on still there, but against a superior opponent it was in vain.
Another two aces in Fery’s next service game ensured Zverev would be forced to serve it out, but the tightness which has often enveloped the second seed on occasions like this failed to materialise. An overhit forehand whipped up a cheer from the crowd and a trademark fist pump from Fery, but hope proved short-lived.
After an errant forehand handed over the match Fery managed a smile as he waved to the crowd, bidding goodbye to the most consequential fortnight of his life and the scene of his biggest triumphs. British hopes have shone brightly at Wimbledon before and not always gone on to replicate that magic, but on the evidence of this week, 23-year-old Fery and his dazzling game will very much be back.
For Zverev, a meeting with either Jannik Sinner or Novak Djokovic awaits, with the German in such form that either – historically so dominant against him – may well match the first-time finalist for nerves.
