Arthur Fery booked his place in the Wimbledon semifinals after defeating Flavio Cobolli in front of a rapturous home crowd on Centre Court.
The British wildcard, aged 23, earned his first straight-sets win of the tournament against Cobolli, beating him 6-4, 7-6, 6-0.
Fery became the first wildcard to make a Grand Slam men’s singles semifinal since Goran Ivanisevic in 2001 and just the fifth Briton in the Open Era to reach the Wimbledon final four.
He will take on Alexander Zverev for a place in the final at the All England Club, with the German beating Taylor Fritz to advance.
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Fery earned his second consecutive win over Cobolli, who had high praise for his conqueror after the match.
Flavio Cobolli reacts after losing to Arthur Fery at Wimbledon
“I felt the game of Arthur was really good for him,” said the Italian in his post-match press conference.
“The way that I played, and I think the perfect game for him. I think that I didn’t play good since the first point of the match.
“Maybe I was a little bit nervous. Maybe I felt the pressure that normally I don’t feel.
“Play a quarterfinal against a guy that already played a marathon match, many hours on court, ranking lower than me, so I felt like it was a chance to have a good day for me today.
“Maybe, like my team says, I wasn’t so humble since the first point, but I felt that it wasn’t my day. Can happen.
“But still a quarterfinal in a Grand Slam, so I’m still happy,” said Cobolli, who was the runner-up at this year’s French Open.
Fery and Cobolli had their first meeting at the Australian Open earlier this season, which the British star also won in straight sets.
Asked if Fery’s level surprised him at all in the second clash, Cobolli said: “I mean, also in Australia I felt that his level wasn’t from a guy that he’s outside from top 100. Now I think is close to, I don’t know, 50.”
Fery is currently 36th in the ATP live rankings, a jump of 78 places, and could still go higher if he beats Zverev.
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“I think he deserves,” said Cobolli. “He always play good tennis since he was young. We grow up together.
“Tennis can change like this (snapping fingers). Really, today wasn’t my day. Maybe he play better than the other matches. I don’t know. I didn’t see the other one. But I felt that his level is really high today.”
Flavio Cobolli says he wants to go home ‘as fast as possible’
Like several other players in the bottom half of the Wimbledon draw, which features neither Jannik Sinner nor Novak Djokovic, Cobolli had a golden opportunity to reach the final.
“Is tough to talk also for me that I always have a smile on my face – also when I lose,” said the 24-year-old.
“Maybe today I don’t sleep really well, also because I have the flight very early. I already took it. I want to go home straight and fast as possible. Of course, from tomorrow I will reset my mind, of course.
“I think I go to make two days off with my girlfriend, maybe easier to forget about this loss. Still, like I said before, I’m a quarterfinalist of a Grand Slam, so I have to be happy about myself.”
With Fritz’s loss, Cobolli has moved up to ninth in the ATP live rankings, despite not picking up any ATP points with his run at Wimbledon, as he matched his quarterfinal finish from last year.
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