Arthur Fery is, deservedly, the talk of the town at Wimbledon at the moment.
After all, his story is a remarkable one, having entered this year’s event as a wildcard ranked outside of the top 100, and having now made his way all the way into the semi-finals.
For his troubles, the Brit now faces the unenviable task of trying to defeat the new Roland Garros champion, Alexander Zverev.
However, win or lose in Friday’s clash, Arthur Fery can depart the All England Club knowing these last two weeks have changed his life.
John McEnroe is the latest to offer his assessment on this unlikely and exceptional success story.
John McEnroe reacts as Arthur Fery reaches Wimbledon semi-finals
Speaking live on the BBC, analysing the latest leg of Fery’s fairytale, McEnroe admitted: “I don’t even know where to start.”
He continued: “It’s someone who totally unexpectedly has made it this far.
Do you believe Arthur Fery can win Wimbledon?
“You can tell by the way that he plays that the surface suits him, but the moment has not seemed overwhelming at any point in his matches; that is the part which has really amazed me about him.
“How rare is it for a wildcard to get where he has? Goran did it. I guess this is the next guy! It is stupendous.
“I think he was 2-1 double break down to Bergs; Dimitrov was two service holds away from beating him, but it looks like the other guys are more wound up than he is. He just seemed so relaxed, and Cobolli just to give in that way tells me something about the levels he is playing.
“This guy just got to the finals of the French; he was in the quarters last year. Okay, there is pressure, but he had to dig in and just went away because of what he was feeling from Fery’s side.”
Fery has revealed what the Queen told him straight after his win over Cobolli, highlighting the true importance of this victory not just for the player, but for the entire country.
Arthur Fery makes Wimbledon history as a wildcard
In reaching the semi-final, Fery has achieved so much in so little time.
Firstly, the Englishman is already guaranteed a healthy sum of £900k for his troubles, which should help boost his budding career no end.
And, perhaps more importantly, the 23-year-old has already risen to 36th in the ATP world rankings.
This will offer him so much security on the tour, affording him entry into pretty much every level of tournaments for the next year or so. This will not only boost his ranking further, but also earn plenty of additional prize money just for these direct entries.
Fery is just the second man in history to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals as a wildcard, with the first being Goran Ivanisevic 25 years ago. He went on to win the title.
