British wildcard Arthur Fery was cheered on by the Queen as he won his Wimbledon quarter final in straight sets on Centre Court. The 23-year-old, who grew up only 10 minutes from the All England Club, beat Italian ninth seed Flavio Cobolli on Wednesday afternoon to secure his place in the semi-finals.
Royal Support and Standing Ovation
Camilla, who made a surprise visit to Wimbledon, was seen supporting Fery from the royal box, wearing a turquoise chiffon dress by designer Anna Valentine. Following his emphatic win, Camilla joined the rest of the crowd to give Fery a standing ovation, smiling as she clapped along.
Historic Achievement
Fery is just the second wildcard in Wimbledon history to make it through to a semi-final. He will play men’s second seed, Alexander Zverev, on Friday. Following his victory, Fery told courtside interviewer Lee McKenzie: “I can’t believe it, it’s incredible playing on Centre Court for the second time, the second win.”
Preparing for the Semi-Final
Asked how he would be preparing for Friday’s semi-final, Fery said: “I don’t know as I’ve never been in this position before. I’m just going to keep going, I’ve been doing a great for the last 10 days I’m just going to keep going and see where that takes me.”
Match Highlights and Crowd Reaction
Fery dropped to the floor after his winning ace, before walking up to the net and shaking hands with his opponent. The crowd erupted into loud cheers with many onlookers standing to applaud the player. His parents appeared emotional as they watched alongside US actress Elle Fanning, and adventurer Bear Grylls, among others.
Fan Reactions
Bettina and Clive Sanford, from north London, watched the match on Centre Court after getting ballot tickets. Mrs Sanford said it has been a “fantastic day” and praised Fery’s “calm” demeanour. Her husband said the match was “amazing”, adding: “He just played with confidence the whole time.” Liz Hardisty, from West Sussex, was sitting on Henman Hill when Fery made his winning shot. Reacting to his victory, she said: “It was really exciting and I’m glad I came… It was worth coming just to see him, such an underdog, a wild card to get to the semi-final – it’s virtually unheard of.”
Historical Context
It is 25 years since Goran Ivanisevic famously became the first wildcard to win the men’s singles title, and Fery is now only two wins away from matching that historic achievement. Having battled through deciding tie-breaks in comeback wins against Zizou Bergs and Grigor Dimitrov, 114th-ranked Fery completely outplayed ninth seed Cobolli on Centre Court, winning 6-4 7-6 (7-4) 6-0.
