Good tennis IQ & inner belief – how Fery reached shock Wimbledon semi-finalFigure caption, Fabulous Fery storms past Cobolli to make Wimbledon semi-final historyByHarry PooleBBC Sport journalist at WimbledonPublished8 July 2026Updated 3 minutes agoBy all tangible measures, Arthur Fery should not be in a Wimbledon semi-final.The 23-year-old was given a wildcard into his home Grand Slam, having been ranked 114th in the world before the start of the tournament.Fery had never gone beyond the second round at one of the sport’s major tournaments, while this is only his fifth appearance at a Grand Slam.But, with each remarkable victory, he is rewriting history at the All England Club.”This is one of the best feel-good sports stories of the year,” Australia’s former Wimbledon doubles champion Todd Woodbridge stated on BBC TV.”I’m not even British and I’m feeling that emotion!”You just don’t want Arthur Fery to wake up because he is just playing such extraordinary tennis.”Not since Goran Ivanisevic’s memorable run to the title has a wildcard reached this heady stage of Wimbledon.The Croat delivered one of the sport’s most unforgettable moments 25 years ago by going on to win the title at SW19.Fery is also the lowest-ranked player to make Wimbledon’s last four since Ivanisevic in 2001.”He is in the biggest semi-final in tennis,” Ivanisevic told BBC 5 Live. “He just has to keep enjoying it. Once you stop enjoying, that is not good. He is in the perfect position with the whole country behind him.”He is a great player with a bright future. So enjoy it, take the crowd and just play good tennis.”As he continues to captivate a nation on the tournament’s centre stage, just a short walk from where he grew up, this Fery-tale run does not appear bound by precedent.”The man who grew up so close to Centre Court now seems to own it,” stated BBC commentator Andrew Cotter.Figure caption, ‘I felt emotions i’ve never felt before’ – GB’s Fery on ‘unbelievable’ QF winOn Wednesday, in scorching afternoon heat, Fery’s sensational Wimbledon soared to even greater heights as he dismantled world number 10 and French Open runner-up Flavio Cobolli in straight sets. He dropped to the ground, almost in slow motion, as close to 15,000 supporters erupted in celebration and began chanting his name.They were scenes his younger self could only have dreamed of when he would visit Wimbledon to watch matches as a child.”For someone that, totally unexpectedly, has made it this far, the moment hasn’t seemed to overwhelm him in any matches,” stated seven-time Grand Slam singles champion John McEnroe.”For Cobolli, just to give in that way tells you something about the level he was playing at. This guy’s just got to the French Open final. He went away because of what he was feeling from Fery’s side.”That is the part that has amazed me most. It’s like the other guys are more wound up and nervous than Fery is, even today.”Wimbledon thought it had seen everything – then Fery arrived
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