Arthur Fery’s Wimbledon campaign has taken everyone by surprise.
The world number 114 had never advanced past the second round at a Grand Slam event prior to this month.
However, Fery has defied the odds, reaching the semi-finals at his home event.
Do you believe Arthur Fery can win Wimbledon?
Fery fell to the Wimbledon grass on Wednesday evening after beating Flavio Cobolli in straight sets, taking in the raucous applause from the Centre Court crowd.
Sam Querrey, like many others, has been stunned by Fery’s progression at the All England Club.
Sam Querrey did not believe Arthur Fery would come close to defeating Flavio Cobolli
Earlier this year, Fery defeated Cobolli 7-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the Australian Open first round.
It was an impressive victory for the Briton – one that foreshadowed his later success at Wimbledon.
“I know, but it was in Australia, he [Cobolli] was sick,” Sam Querrey said when told of Fery’s triumph in Australia on the Nothing Major Show.
“I’m blown away by Fery, he stepped up today,” the former world number continued. “He straight up just took Cobolli to the woodshed, and Cobolli could never get it going.
“Whole crowd behind him, Fery, he’s only 5ft 9, the grass helps him, he kind of gets more out of his serve, he’s a really good mover, he’s crafty, he seems to anticipate well.
“Did you think Fery had a chance against Cobolli? I literally did not think he was going to come close in this match and I was dead wrong.”
Arthur Fery’s run to the Wimbledon semi-finals
- R1: defeated Damir Dzumhur 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-1
- R2: defeated Otto Virtanen 5-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-3
- R3: defeated Zizou Bergs 2-6, 7-5, 2-6, 7-6, 7-6
- R4: defeated Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6
- QF: defeated Flavio Cobolli 6-4, 7-6, 6-0
- SF: will play Alexander Zverev
Steve Johnson, the former world number 21, then offered his take on the surprise result.
“Me and John [Isner] both took Cobolli, and then I was kind of like, ‘Unless Cobolli gets nervous that he’s playing a wild card in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon,” said Johnson. “And I think that didn’t help.
“Fery did a great job, he played solid, and Cobolli just, I don’t know if he ran out of gas.
“You never know what’s going on with somebody, but that third set, it was just over, once he lost the second, you could kind of just see, unless Fery absolutely just crumbles, he’s going to win this match, because he was more solid.
“Cobolli was missing balls. The moment got too big for Cobolli and the just didn’t play well.
“It’s hard to say that seeing he just made the final of a Slam, but that’s what it felt like watching.
“Fery played great, he’s super solid, the forehand didn’t break down, the backhand is solid, he comes forward, and he is riding a British wave of momentum, like we haven’t seen in a long time from somebody who’s not named Murray or Draper.”
Querrey then added: “Great draw [for Fery] in my opinion. But all you can do is beat who is on the other side of the draw, and he’s stepped up time and time again, won five matches here.”
Fery is scheduled to play Alexander Zverev in the Wimbledon semi-finals on Friday.
The duo are set to walk onto Centre Court at around 1:30 pm British Summer Time.
The winner of Fery and Zverev will play either Novak Djokovic or Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final.
Fery has never played Zverev, Sinner, or Djokovic on the ATP Tour.
Arthur Fery’s school wish him luck for the Wimbledon semi-finals
Fery, who grew up in the vicinity of Wimbledon, has received a heartwarming message from his the school he attended when he was younger.
Fery attended Kings College – a public school in Wimbledon.
“Arthur Fery, who left King’s in 2020, is the 14th former pupil to play at Wimbledon,” a spokesperson for the school said in a statement, as reported by the Standard’s Sam Tabuteau.
After leaving Kings College in 2020, Fery went on to attend Stanford University in the United States, representing the tennis team.
The Briton went on to become a two-time ITA All-American [2022, 2023], the Pac-12 Singles Player of the Year for 2023, and two-time All-Pac-12 first team player [2022, 2023].
