French Open champion Alexander Zverev ended Britain’s Arthur Fery’s remarkable run with a dominant semi-final win on Friday to reach his first Wimbledon final.
The second seed will face either defending champion Jannik Sinner or seven-time winner Novak Djokovic for the title on Sunday after beating Fery 7-6 (7/0), 6-2, 6-4 on center court.
“It’s amazing,” Zverev said. “I know 99.9 percent of the stadium wanted Arthur to win, but it was still an unbelievable atmosphere.”
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Zverev is the first German to reach the final at the All England Club since Boris Becker in 1995.
He is one win away from ending his nation’s 35-year wait for a men’s Wimbledon champion since Michael Stich lifted the trophy.
The 29-year-old is also only the third man in the Open era to win a first Grand Slam title, which he achieved at Roland Garros last month, before reaching the final of his next major.
He had never made it past the last 16 in nine previous visits to the All England Club.
“This Grand Slam has always been the one I’ve struggled with the most and suddenly I’m in the Wimbledon final. I’m extremely happy,” added Zverev who has lost just two sets in the tournament so far.
“But we have another game to play on Sunday and that’s where the focus is.”
Zverev will face a much tougher test in his fifth Slam final against the winner of Friday’s second-last-four tie between Sinner and Djokovic.
He has lost his last nine meetings with world number one Sinner, including last year’s Australian Open final.
Zverev also has just one win from five Grand Slam matches against Djokovic, which was when the 24-time major champion retired injured after one set of their semi-final at 2025 in Melbourne.
“I hope I can play a junior, that would be nice,” Zverev joked when asked who he would most like to face in the final.
“Whether it’s the reigning champion or someone who’s won here 48 times like Novak Djokovic, it’s not going to be easy.
“But I have to believe in myself and believe that I can win and that’s all I can do.”
British hopes were dashed
Fery was the first wildcard to reach the Wimbledon men’s semi-finals since Goran Ivanisevic 25 years ago, but his hopes of emulating the popular Croatian by going all the way were dashed by a relentless Zverev.
The new hero of the home crowd will be able to console himself with a rise from 114th place to 36th in the ATP rankings, guaranteeing entry to the biggest tennis events.
The British dream of a first men’s final since Andy Murray won his second title in 2016 looked alive when Fery responded immediately to an early break from Zverev.
But the world number three calmed the crowd with a brilliant tie-break, cruising through it with a flurry of serves and groundstrokes.
Fery managed just three winners in the lopsided second set as Zverev took total control of the semi-final.
Zverev broke through in the fifth game of the third set, before easily crossing the finish line on serve to book his place in a final which Fery will have to watch from home on his 24th birthday.
“I have to give credit to Arthur, an incredible player, he will be a senior citizen on our tour,” Zverev said.
“He will have great results, this was just the beginning for him.”
