Arthur Fery stunned Flavio Cobolli on Wednesday to advance to the Wimbledon semi-finals for the first time.
Fery wasted little time dispatching the Italian, triumphing 6-4, 7-6, 6-0 on Centre Court.
The Briton has now become only the second wildcard to reach the semi-finals of the Wimbledon Men’s Singles event, following Goran Ivanisevic’s title-winning campaign in 2001.
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Following Wednesday’s exploits, Fery is set to become the new British number one – overtaking Cameron Norrie.
Greg Rusedski has suggested that Fery would have achieved this ranking sooner, had the British player not suffered from injuries earlier in his career.
Greg Rusedski says injuries have been the only factor preventing Arthur Fery from climbing the ATP rankings
Rusedski, the former British number one, began his analysis on the ‘Off Court with Greg Podcast‘ by lauding Fery’s performance, describing the result as ‘so impressive’ and a ‘dream story.’
The Briton then discussed whether Fery’s level of play is sustainable moving forward.
“Well, health is your wealth,” Rusedski said. “That’s what stopped him in the past. Not his tennis game. He was one of the top college players as well.
“He was number one for Stanford. He’s one of the best in the American college system. And, you know, he’s finally healthy. It’s having that consistent run week in, week out.
“This will give him immense confidence no matter what happens, whether he wins or loses. If he wins, it’s an even bigger deal because that gets him closer to top 20, making a major final. And he’s got a real shot.
“And then you look at his game and there’s no real weaknesses. We talked about second serve being a problem. He won 66 per cent of second serve points. I mean, that number is astonishing.
“If you’re 54 plus on second serve points, that’s outstanding. 66 is ridiculous. So it was dominant.
“He’s improving all the time. And if he stays healthy, there’s no reason why, at the end of the year, he’s not in the top 20 in the world.
“Nobody’s going to want to play him. Because you’ve got to look at the hard courts. It’s going to be a clean bounce. He’s going to be able to take it early.
“And I’ve had multiple practice sessions with him [and] with other players. And every time I walk on the court, I’m like, ‘Why isn’t this guy ranked higher? What is happening?’
“The only reason is because he wasn’t healthy. He’s had a healthy run now.
“He’s been the story of Wimbledon for all the Brits; and it’s kind of funny, you look at the lineup for the men’s semifinals.
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“Sinner expected. Djokovic expected.
“You would have never in a million years put Fery in there and you got the world number two he’s facing, Sasha Zverev, who he thought was probably going to lose to Taylor Fritz – but made a statement today and won in straight sets.”
Zverev, the world number three, finally won his first Grand Slam title last month at Roland Garros.
The German star defeated Flavio Cobolli 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7, 6-1 inside Court Philippe Chatrier.
Arthur Fery reacts to his victory on social media
“Hey guys. I haven’t been on socials but wanted to jump on here quickly to say a massive thank you to everyone sending support,” Fery wrote on an Instagram story.
“Means the world to me and I’m looking forward to the semis on Friday.”
Fery will hope to make it six in a row when he plays Alexander Zverev on Friday afternoon.
The duo are set to contest their last-four match in brutal conditions inside Wimbledon Centre Court.
The pair are due on court at 1:30 pm British Summer Time. The temperature is expected to be 30 degrees Celsius at that time, rising to 31 degrees at 3 pm.
The temperature is set to decrease from 4 pm, reaching 25 degrees by 9pm.
