Arthur Fery Hopes to Follow in Emma Raducanu and Valentin Vacherot’s Footsteps After Wimbledon Semifinal Run

Arthur Fery was World No. 114 when he was awarded a Wimbledon wildcard. While British fans had pinned their hopes on Cameron Norrie or Jack Draper, Fery surprised everyone by making the most of his wildcard.

The 23-year-old defeated several top-ranked players, including Zizou Bergs and Flavio Cobolli, to become the first British man to reach the Wimbledon semifinal since Andy Murray in 2016. He is also only the fourth wildcard to reach the men’s singles semifinals at a Grand Slam.

Fery’s fairytale run ultimately ended in a straight-sets defeat to Alexander Zverev in the semifinal. However, the run has significantly boosted his ranking, propelling him to a career-high World No. 36. After the defeat, the Brit spoke in his post-match press conference about taking inspiration from Emma Raducanu and Valentin Vacherot.

It’s going to be interesting to see how I deal with that change and everything that it brings in terms of expectations from myself, from the public, from everyone. The first part of it is having good people around me who are going to help me in that transition. Emma or guys like Vacherot. He’s done an incredible job. He went from 200 to winning a Masters. Suddenly it almost seemed like his base level switched overnight and now, that seems like his everyday level. I’ll try and take from what they’ve done and do the same.

Raducanu produced one of the greatest underdog stories in tennis history at the 2021 US Open. The Brit came through the qualifying draw before winning 10 consecutive matches without dropping a set to clinch her maiden Grand Slam title. At just 18 years old, she became the first qualifier, male or female, to win a Grand Slam singles title in the Open Era.

Vacherot scripted a similarly improbable fairytale at the Shanghai Masters last year. Entering the tournament through qualifying after only just making the draw as an alternate, he reeled off nine straight victories to become the first Monegasque player to win an ATP singles title.

Along the way, he stunned top-ranked players, including Holger Rune and Novak Djokovic, before defeating his cousin Arthur Rinderknech in the final. He also became the lowest-ranked ATP Masters 1000 champion in history, surging from World No. 204 to No. 40 after his win.

Arthur Fery lost to Alexander Zverev in straight sets

Arthur Fery lost to the reigning Roland Garros champion Alexander Zverev 7-6 (0), 6-2, 6-4. Prior to this tournament, Fery had never progressed beyond the second round of a Grand Slam. The Brit matched Zverev stride for stride in the opening set, but once the tiebreak arrived, the German elevated his game, racing through all seven points without reply.

After finding his rhythm, Zverev maintained control for the remainder of the match, overpowering Fery and dropping just five points on serve across the final two sets. Zverev hit a whopping 44 winners, including 9 aces, throughout the match.

With this win, Zverev has made it to his first ever Wimbledon final. Next week, he will overtake Carlos Alcaraz for the World No. 2 rank. If he wins the tournament, he will become only the seventh man in the Open Era to complete the Channel Slam, the feat of winning Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same season.

In the final, Zverev will square off against defending champion Jannik Sinner in the final. The Italian has dominated his rivalry with Zverev, winning their last nine encounters and dropping no sets in their previous eight meetings. Although the pair have faced each other 14 times, this will be their first clash on grass.

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