Arthur Fery is carrying the hope of a nation of tennis fans on his back at Wimbledon.
The 23-year-old Brit, ranked 114th in the world, defeated No. 9 seed and 2026 French Open finalist Flavio Cobolli 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 6-0 on Wednesday to reach his first career major semifinal at his home slam.
It was an incredibly decisive victory for the youngster experiencing his first taste of Grand Slam success.
His run has ensured that he will break into the top 100 for the first time in his career, no matter what happens the rest of the tournament.
Fery also got the better of Cobolli at the Australian Open in January, giving him the victory in their only two career meetings, both at majors.
Fery, who was born near Paris but moved to the UK at just a month old, grew up just a short walk from the All England Club.
He became the first British wild card to reach the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam with his fearless five-set defeat of former world No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov on Monday. Wimbledon legend Roger Federer looked on.
The week has been a whirlwind for Fery, who had never advanced past the second round of a major before.
Fery has quickly gained the support of a home crowd that has always backed its English players, with some fans chanting, “All aboard the Fery.”
His quarterfinal match against Cobolli took place on Center Court.
Should his magical run continue, Fery has the chance to become the first Brit to win Wimbledon since Andy Murray won his second title there in 2016.
Fery will face No. 2 seed and French Open champion Alexander Zverev in the semifinals on Friday.
With Fery’s victory, two male wildcards have reached the semifinals at Wimbledon.
The last one? Goran Ivanišević in 2001, who went on to win the title.
So how will he block out the noise and focus on his next match?
“We’ll just figure it out as we go,” Fery said. “I’m gonna keep going. I’ve been doing a great job for the past 10 days. Just gonna do the same thing and see where that takes me.”
“That last game, I felt emotions that I hadn’t experienced before in my life. I think it’s the same up there (pointing to his box). It’s unbelievable to share it with those guys. I’m so happy.”
