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It would have been perfectly reasonable for Arthur Fery to have finally betrayed a few nerves as he stood a point away from establishing a two-set lead in his first grand slam quarter-final. Any tension or fear he may have felt, however, was completely overpowered by his unwavering self-belief and certainty that has defined the greatest fortnight of his life.
Leading by a set and 6-4 in the second set tie-break, Fery leapt forward to meet Flavio Cobolli’s second serve on the rise, and he immediately followed up his sweet backhand return by sweeping forward to the net. Fery’s subsequent backhand drop volley stopped dead on the grass, killing the second set in the process.
For two-and-a-half hours, almost every one of the most important moments of this match ended with similar displays of heroic courage and self-assurance from Fery. In front of a delirious, disbelieving Centre Court crowd, he refused to allow the tournament of his dreams to end.
Fery, a local wildcard ranked No 114 before this tournament began, thoroughly outplayed one of the most in-form men in the world, defeating the ninth seed Cobolli to reach the semi-finals of Wimbledon with an incredible 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-0 win.
Before his incredible run, Fery had just two grand slam wins to his name, had yet to break the top 100 and was still just trying to bridge the gap between the lesser ATP Challenger Tour and the biggest tournaments in the sport. Now he is a semi-finalist at Wimbledon, just a few minutes away from where he grew up. Fery is the second wildcard in the open era to reach the semi-finals of the men’s singles draw at Wimbledon; the other, Goran Ivanisevic, won the title in 2001.
This was another supreme demonstration of Fery’s clean, smooth and well-rounded game along with mental fortitude that has framed his performances all tournament. His serving display was brilliant, and not only for a man of his diminutive stature at 5ft 9in. He played with bold, controlled aggression, taking the ball so early and particularly striking his forehand with such cleanliness throughout. He also gave absolutely nothing away, his excellent defence and shot tolerance forcing Cobolli to earn nearly every single point.
Still, every one of the 128 players in the singles draw hits a tennis ball well but very few are built to thrive under such immense pressure at such an important point of one of the biggest tournaments in the world. Throughout this event, Fery’s mental toughness and the way he has found enjoyment in the decisive moments have been priceless. This was clear in his two previous monumental victories, where he found himself in losing positions against Zizou Bergs and Grigor Dimitrov, yet had the wherewithal and self-belief to continue fighting and drag himself through two fifth-set tie-breaks. It was the same here, in by far the biggest match of Fery’s career, a moment that nothing in his journey could possibly compare to, which inspired the performance of his lifetime.
There were ample question marks surrounding how Fery would handle the early stages of his Centre Court debut in his previous round against Dimitrov, but those doubts had evaporated by the time he calmly strolled onto the court ahead of Cobolli on Wednesday afternoon. Not even an unexpected encounter with Queen Camilla, who seemed to appear out of thin air in the hallway to greet Fery seconds before he entered the court, could unsettle him. The sight of Fery opening the match with such great confidence, backing up his excellent serving in the first few games by taking the ball early, striking his forehand sweetly and barely missing a backhand, was completely unsurprising.
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Fery’s first demonstration of his unshakeable composure soon came at 3-3 in the set after a couple of loose, early unforced errors immediately put him in a 0-30 deficit. Suddenly at risk of losing his serve, Fery was tidy and intelligent as ever. He locked down his game, drawing errors from Cobolli’s forehand with some excellent retrieving, and then he found a few clutch first serves at the end of the game to hold. Fery’s composure under pressure starkly contrasted with the total panic exhibited by Cobolli a few games later. Under scoreboard pressure at 4-5, Cobolli’s serve capitulated and he took wild swings at his forehand. A flurry of unforced errors handed Fery the opening set of his first major quarter-final.
For many competitors in Fery’s position, the start of the second set could have marked a dramatic momentum shift. He lost his focus right in the first game, a loose service game offering Cobolli an immediate break. Instead of stewing over that poor service game, Fery immediately locked back in. At his very first break point of the set, Fery fully trusted himself, pounding a down-the-line forehand to retrieve the break. He continued to serve at an incredible level for the rest of the set, effortlessly moving through his service games while pressuring nearly every one of Cobolli’s service games. Fery was the superior player throughout the set, this was plainly reflected in a one-sided tie-break, which he punctuated with a sickly sweet drop volley winner behind an excellent backhand return.
With the first two sets secured, this tightly contested tussle transformed into a parade. While Fery could do nothing wrong, serving like a man possessed and lasering winners from all parts of the courts, Cobolli had nothing left to give. Fery marched through the third set without any further friction, closing out a career-defining performance with a flawless service game that will long live in the memory of all 15,000 people present on court, his unbelievable journey to a first Wimbledon semi-final sealed with an ace out wide and a hold to love.
