Alexander Zverev Says Arthur Fery ‘Deserves’ to Be in Wimbledon Semifinals: “He Impressed Me a Lot”

Alexander Zverev will be fighting two opponents in his career’s first Wimbledon semifinals: Arthur Fery and the Centre Court crowd. Fery is bidding to become the first British man since Andy Murray at the 2016 Wimbledon to win a Grand Slam title.

Fery, who before this Wimbledon had never played in a Grand Slam third round, knocked out this year’s Roland Garros finalist Flavio Cobolli in the quarterfinals. And in the fourth round, it was Grigor Dimitrov whom the local man knocked out after a five-set battle.

Fery now holds a 2-0 head-to-head record over Cobolli because, prior to this Wimbledon, he defeated him in the first round of the Australian Open. Zverev, who finally ended his losing streak against Taylor Fritz, watched that match, in which Fery clinched a 7-6(1), 6-4, 6-1 win over the Italian ace.

I watched that match, and even then, he impressed me a lot. He has very clean technique and clean groundstrokes; I already thought he was a very good player. It might be a small surprise that he is in the semifinals, but I believe he deserves it. The victories he has achieved and the way he came back in several matches have been fantastic. It’s a great story.

Alexander Zverev said at the press conference

Zverev will be meeting the 23-year-old for the first time in his career. He is also a first-time semifinalist at SW19, and before this season, he had never made it past the fourth round of this tournament.

I know perfectly well that 99% of the people will be cheering for him, but I also enjoy those kinds of environments. I like it when the energy is high. For me, the British audience and Wimbledon’s audience have always been very fair. They cheer with a lot of energy and make a lot of noise, but they are always respectful.

Alexander Zverev added

Zverev is chasing his second Grand Slam title in London. In this year’s French Open, he overcame Cobolli in the final.

Alexander Zverev on the key to his development on grass

Alexander Zverev is chasing his first title on grass. So far, the 29-year-old has made three finals, losing all. He lost the 2016 Halle Open to Florian Mayer, the 2017 Halle Open to Roger Federer, and last year’s Stuttgart Open to Taylor Fritz. At the press conference after his latest win, Zverev talked about the changes he has made in his game that have been key to his development on the surface.

I changed my positioning when returning and my overall placement on the court. I tried it in the last few years, but I never felt comfortable doing it. This year is different, and I’m very happy about it. This year, I won a very similar match in the first round, and from there, I felt better in each match. Sometimes you just need to accumulate matches. 

If Zverev reaches the final, he will remove Carlos Alcaraz from the No.2 spot in the rankings table. In the final, he will square off against either Jannik Sinner or Novak Djokovic.

Sinner and Djokovic will be meeting for the second time this season. In their previous match, in the semifinals of the Australian Open, the 24-time Grand Slam champion clinched a five-set win, but Alcaraz dashed his hope of winning his 25th Major in the final.

Djokovic holds a 9-5 head-to-head lead over Zverev, while defending champion Sinner holds a 10-4 head-to-head lead. The four-time Grand Slam champion, in fact, is on a nine-match winning streak against Zverev and met him four times this season.

Also read: Karolina Muchova Makes Unexpected Confession After Reaching Wimbledon Semifinals