Wimbledon 'Ferytale' continues

If he keeps playing like this, Arthur Fery might just become Wimbledon royalty.

Fery grew up five minutes from the All England Club, and now the 114th-ranked player is a semifinalist at the grass-court Grand Slam.

The British 23-year-old, who needed a wildcard invitation to enter the tournament, beat ninth-seeded Flavio Cobolli 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-0 on Centre Court in front of a roaring partisan crowd and a Royal Box contingent that included Britain's Queen Camilla on Wednesday.

His run has been dubbed a "Ferytale" and has included a viewing by Catherine, the Princess of Wales, earlier in the tournament.

"It gets better and better every match," Fery said in an on-court interview. "I just can't believe it."

The only other wildcard to have reached the men's singles semifinals at the All England Club was Goran Ivanisevic in his run to the Wimbledon title in 2001.

Fery earned a standing ovation after winning the first set. The deafening roar that followed Fery taking the tiebreaker to seal the second set was heard over at Wimbledon's other main stadium — No 1 Court, where Alexander Zverev was in the process of beating Taylor Fritz in straight sets.

Fery sealed his memorable victory with an ace and fell onto his back to soak in the applause.

"That last game, I felt emotions that I hadn't experienced before in my life," he said.

A short time later, Zverev wrapped up his 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 win to set up a semifinal against Fery on Friday.

Moments before the start of their quarterfinal match, Fery and Cobolli were surprised to meet Camilla in the hallway as they were about to walk onto court.

"She came to say hello, she introduced herself to both me and Flavio," Fery said. "It's obviously an honor to play in front of her. Great to meet her. She had some really kind words for me at the end, as well. Playing in front of tennis legends and now the queen, so it's special."

Roger Federer had been on hand Monday when Fery ousted Grigor Dimitrov in five sets in a fourth-round match that was also on Centre Court.

A champagne cork popped in the crowd late in the first set and distracted Cobolli during his service motion. The locals will surely pop a few more, now they have a Brit to support in Friday's semifinal.

The 24-year-old Cobolli, who lost the French Open final to Zverev, made 41 unforced errors to Fery's 15, and only broke the British player once — to start the second set, but Fery broke back in the fourth game.

"I felt like I didn't express even 50 percent of my tennis. But obviously that had a lot to do with him. He was better than me," said Cobolli, who also lost to Fery in the first round at this year's Australian Open.

Friday's other semifinal pits seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic against defending champion Jannik Sinner.

'Staying in my bubble'

The enormity of what he has achieved may sink in before Friday, but do not expect Fery to buckle under the weight of his newfound fame. His journey has been carefully mapped out.

He delayed going full-time, opting instead for the United States college route, majoring in science, technology and society at Stanford University, where he became the top-ranked college player in the US.

While his run may resemble a sporting fairytale for the ages, Fery takes everything in his stride, and his measured responses to the questions of reporters eager for headline-grabbing quotes mirror the calmness he shows on court.

"It's good that I don't have two weeks before my next match. They keep coming fast, so that's good," he said. "Just staying in my bubble and just carrying on."

After a torrid start for the home nation, with 15 of its 19 singles players knocked out in round one, Fery has become the unlikely standard bearer for Britain, and the French tennis authorities might be ruing one that got away.

Fery was born close to Roland Garros in the Parisian suburb of Sevres. His parents are both French. His father Loic is a multi-millionaire hedge fund manager who owns French soccer club Lorient, while his mother Olivia was a former tennis professional.

Despite briefly representing France as a junior, Fery's credentials as a Brit are solid.

He moved to London as a child, attended King's College in Wimbledon, came through the British tennis system and said there was "no decision to make" when it came to his allegiance.

"He's a true Wimbledon boy," Fery's father told French sports daily L'Equipe. "It's like someone who grew up in Boulogne playing at Roland Garros. He went to school five minutes from here. He's always lived here."

Ready for Fery crowd

The second-seeded Zverev, who dispatched Fritz in just under two hours, recalled being impressed by Fery's Aussie Open win over Cobolli in Melbourne.

"I watched that match. I was very impressed back then already. He has a very clean technique and very clean groundstrokes," said the 29-year-old German, who is also into his first Wimbledon semifinal.

"It's going to be a great atmosphere," he said of Friday's match. "Of course, I know that 99 percent of the people will be cheering for him, but I also enjoy that kind of atmosphere. I enjoy it when the energy is very high."

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