British wildcard Arthur Fery advanced to his first Grand Slam semifinal by defeating world number 10 Flavio Cobolli in straight sets at the All England Club on Wednesday, July 8, 2026.
The 23-year-old, ranked 114th globally before the tournament, beat the French Open runner-up in two hours and 14 minutes on Centre Court.
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Fery has spent 16 hours and 20 minutes on court across the tournament, including a grueling five-set opening round against Zizou Bergs that lasted four hours and 39 minutes.
With this victory, the London native became the lowest-ranked competitor and the first wildcard entry to secure a spot in the Wimbledon men's singles semifinals since Goran Ivanisevic won the title 25 years ago.
Praise from Tennis Legends
Former Wimbledon doubles champion Todd Woodbridge praised the achievement during a broadcast on BBC TV.
"This is one of the best feel-good sports stories of the year," Woodbridge said.
Woodbridge noted the widespread emotional impact of the performance as the British player continued his unexpected tournament progress.
"I'm not even British and I'm feeling that emotion!" he added.
The former champion expressed amazement at the high level of play displayed throughout the tournament.
"You just don't want Arthur Fery to wake up because he is just playing such extraordinary tennis," Woodbridge said.
Former champion Goran Ivanisevic, who achieved a similar wildcard run in 2001, offered guidance to the young player through BBC 5 Live.
