Arthur Fery Just Did Something Wimbledon Hasn't Seen Since 2001

On one side of the Wimbledon men’s singles bracket, world No. 1 Jannik Sinner will face 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in a semifinal. On the other side, No. 3-ranked Alexander Zverev, fresh off winning at Roland-Garros, will face Arthur Fery in a semifinal.

Wait, who?

Fery, ranked No. 114, entered the men’s singles draw as a wild card. The 23-year-old British player upset Flavio Cobolli in straight sets on Centre Court on Wednesday, July 8, to become the first male wild card to reach a Wimbledon semifinal since 2001.

“In the Open era, there had been only three other men’s wild cards to reach the semifinals at any major: Jimmy Connors (1991 US Open), Henri Leconte (1992 French Open) and Goran Ivanisevic (2001 Wimbledon champion),” ESPN relayed.

According to the ATP Tour, Connors and Leconte lost in the semifinal, while Ivanisevic went on to become Wimbledon champion.

Fery’s fate will be decided on Friday, July 10. For now, the hometown darling is enjoying a dream run.

“I always believed in myself and believed that I could be a top player in the world, but obviously, semifinalist of Wimbledon is something else,” Fery said in his post-match presser. “I’ve taken it match by match. I haven’t looked ahead. I’ve just played every match as it is, and yeah, here I am.”

Fery said that he hasn’t looked “too much” at social media and remains focused on tennis, but he is “starting to” grasp the weight of being the last British player standing at Wimbledon. Imagine how electric Sunday’s final will be if Fery has a shot at becoming the first Brit to win Wimbledon since Andy Murray in 2016.

Until then, watch Fery’s highlights below.

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This story was originally published July 8, 2026 at 8:57 PM.