Britain's Arthur Fery stuns Flavio Cobolli to reach Wimbledon semi-finals

British wildcard Arthur Fery delivered another inspired performance to reach the Wimbledon 2026 semi-finals, defeating Italy's Flavio Cobolli in straight sets and extending one of the tournament's biggest surprise stories.

The 23-year-old produced a composed display on Centre Court to secure a 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 6-0 victory, earning a last-four meeting with French Open champion Alexander Zverev.

Backed by a passionate home crowd, Fery became only the fifth British man in the Open Era to reach the Wimbledon singles semi-finals.

Fery keeps dream run alive

Few expected Arthur Fery to still be standing in the second week of Wimbledon after entering the tournament as a wildcard. Instead, the British hopeful has become one of the stories of the Championships.

Having already survived two gruelling five-set contests earlier in the tournament, Fery showed no signs of fatigue against Cobolli, matching the Italian's baseline power while remaining remarkably composed on serve.

His aggressive shot selection and confidence under pressure allowed him to dictate long rallies throughout the contest.

Tie-break turns the match

The opening set remained tightly contested until Fery claimed the decisive break before holding serve to move ahead. The second set proved even more competitive. Neither player managed to create significant separation, forcing a tie-break that ultimately shifted the momentum entirely in Fery's favour.

The Briton attacked from the opening points, earned an early mini-break and never surrendered control, taking the breaker 7-4 to move within one set of the semi-finals.

Cobolli collapses in final set

After losing the second-set tie-break, Cobolli struggled to recover. Fery immediately broke serve at the beginning of the third set before saving crucial break points in the following game to maintain control.

From there, the momentum belonged entirely to the British wildcard. Cobolli became increasingly frustrated as Fery won game after game, eventually completing a dominant 6-0 final set to seal the biggest victory of his career.

Historic achievement for British tennis

With the victory, Fery joins an exclusive group of British players to reach the Wimbledon men's singles semi-finals during the Open Era. He follows Andy Murray, Tim Henman, Cameron Norrie, Roger Taylor.

Fery also becomes only the second wildcard in the Open Era to reach the Wimbledon men's singles semi-finals after Goran Ivanišević's unforgettable title-winning run in 2001.

Zverev awaits in semi-finals

Standing between Fery and a dream Wimbledon final is Alexander Zverev. The German advanced comfortably after defeating American Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 to continue his impressive tournament.

With French Open champion Zverev enjoying excellent form, Friday's semi-final presents the biggest challenge of Fery's remarkable fortnight. The winner will face either world number one Jannik Sinner or seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic in the final.

Fery relishing the Moment

Speaking after the match, Fery admitted the magnitude of his achievement had yet to fully sink in. The British star revealed that defeating Cobolli earlier this season gave him belief that another victory was possible, while the Centre Court atmosphere helped carry him through the closing stages.

Now just one victory away from reaching a Grand Slam final, Fery continues to exceed expectations and has quickly become the home favourite at Wimbledon.

SportsLigue