Fery's Wimbledon run ended by Zverev in semi-finals

Arthur Fery's unforgettable Wimbledon run is over after Alexander Zverev denied the British wildcard a place in the final and ended his hopes of a fairytale finish.

Fery, who arrived at SW19 as the world number 114 and had never been beyond the second round of a Grand Slam, defied all expectations to reach the semi-finals.

But an encounter against second seed Zverev proved one step too far and the French Open champion was a class above in a 7-6 (7-0) 6-2 6-4 win.

As the German shared a warm embrace with Fery at the net, the Centre Court crowd rose as one and applauded the player who wrote one of the best British Wimbledon stories of the past few years.

Fery can leave with his head held high.

After a dismal start that saw 15 of his compatriots fall in the first round, he has carried British singles hopes further than anyone imagined, and dazzled the home crowd with his fighting spirit.

Fery, who turns 24 in two days' time, will be confirmed as the new British number one and will rise to 36th in the world rankings on Monday, as well as taking home £900,000 in prize money.

Zverev, meanwhile, is into his first Wimbledon final, where he will face either defending champion Jannik Sinner or seven-time winner Novak Djokovic on Sunday.

The 29-year-old will hope to add a second Grand Slam singles trophy to his collection after ending his long wait for a maiden major at last month's French Open.

"This Grand Slam has always been the one that I have struggled with most and all of a sudden I am in the final, so I am incredibly happy," said Zverev, who had never previously gone beyond the fourth round at Wimbledon.

"I have to give credit to Arthur. Unbelievable player - he's going to be a senior citizen on our tour because I think he is going to play for 15-plus years.

"This is just the beginning of his career."

Fery made a promising start when he pushed Zverev to deuce in his first service game, and responded immediately after going a break down three games later.

After arguing with the umpire over a problem with the technology for let calls, a fired-up Fery got the first set back on level terms - helped by a sublime angled drop shot that had the crowd leaping to their feet.

The pair continued to go toe-to-toe, but when the tie-break arrived it was Zverev who raised the intensity, whizzing through seven points without reply to take the opener.

Having found his level, the 6ft 6in German remained on top, and the gulf became clear as he overpowered Fery to win five games on the bounce before wrapping up the second set.

While Fery had fought back in his first three matches at the All England Club, there were no signs of a comeback on Friday - despite the crowd's best efforts to rally their home hope.

Unable to cope with the pace coming from Zverev's racquet, Fery - who had remained calm when he found himself behind in his previous matches - became frustrated and gestured angrily towards his team as Zverev rode through 15 points unchallenged.

The Briton fended off three break points at 4-3, but it only delayed the inevitable and Zverev lofted a ball into the sky as he secured the victory.

Zverev, meanwhile, will rise to world number two when the rankings are updated on Monday, replacing the injured Carlos Alcaraz.

Fery has lived out his dreams over the past fortnight on the Wimbledon grounds that are just a short walk from where he grew up.

He battled back from a set down in his first three matches and stunned former world number three Grigor Dimitrov in a marathon five-set win on his Centre Court debut.

But it was not until he dismantled French Open runner-up Flavio Cobolli, the ninth seed, in the quarter-finals that people really started to take notice.

The French-born Briton has endeared himself to fans - on Centre Court, Henman Hill and further afield - with his never-give-up attitude and intense self-belief.

Having never cracked the top 100 before this tournament, he will suddenly find himself inside the top 40 and assured of direct entry into the sport's biggest tournaments for the foreseeable future.

And the £900,000 in prize money will help to further develop his career - especially considering it is £240,000 more than his previous career earnings before Wimbledon.

"I really think he is going to do amazing things in this sport," Zverev added.