Confident Zverev ready to end Fery-tale in Wimbledon semis

Alexander Zverev is determined to end the British Wimbledon Fery-tale when he takes on home sensation Arthur Fery for a place in the final at the All England Club.

Fery has caused a frenzy by advancing to the semi-finals as a wild card entry and lifting the trophy his 24th birthday on Sunday would be the icing on the cake.

Winning brings confidence

But first comes Friday's semi-final against Zverev who is also riding a wave of success and confidence after winning his first grand slam title at last a few weeks ago at the French Open and now playing the best Wimbledon of his career.

He will have even more confidence after a straight-sets win in the quarter-finals over Taylor Fritz, against whom he had lost the previous seven matches starting with a fourth round Wimbledon match in 2024.

Having dealt well with the pressure in Paris where he was declared top favourite after early exits of Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic (who meet in the other semi on Friday), Zverev believes he can also handle Fery and the crowd and continue the bid to become Germany's first men's Wimbledon champion since Michael Stich in 1991.

Only a tennis match

"Of course it is a big match. It is about reaching the final. But I have learnt that in the end a tennis match is simply a tennis match," he said.

"No one will die. The lives of the people won't change dramatically. We will live on. I will try to play my best tennis. There is nothing more behind it."

Zverev can trust his tennis 12 months after the low of going out in the first round at the All England Club and admitting to mental problems.

Change the game

“I think winning Roland Garros definitely helps for sure. There's no question about it," he said.

"But I think I changed my game a bit for grass. It's working quite well this year. I spoke about it the previous matches. My return position, my position generally on court, has changed.

“I tried it the last couple of years, but I never felt comfortable doing it. This year feels a bit different. Of course, I'm very pleased and very happy about that.”

Praise for Fery

Zverev will move injured Carlos Alcaraz into second place if he wins on Friday against Fery who started the fortnight outside the top 100 but will move up into the top 40.

“The first time I watched him play was actually in Australia. He beat (Flavio) Cobolli in the first round. I watched that match. I was very impressed back then already," Zverev said.

"He has a very clean technique and very clean groundstrokes. I thought he was a very good tennis player already back then.

“Of course, it's maybe a surprise a little bit that he's in the semi-finals. But I think he deserves it. The wins that he had, the way he fought back in a couple of those matches, is great to see. It's a great story.”

Fery 'ready for it'

Stanford graduate Fery was born in France but grew up in London and went to school near the All England Club, which makes the whole experience even more special for him.

“Zverev is a step up again. I'm ready for it,” Fery said after beating French Open finalist Cobolli again on Wednesday.

“I have nothing to lose. I'm just going to go out there and just put my game on the court, do what I've done, believe in myself. We'll see where that takes me.”