Key events
Thanks Daniel, a stellar stint as always. So, having woken up from our Fery-induced fever dream, reality has returned, as Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic meet in the semi-finals for the second successive year – and the sixth time at this stage of a grand slam.
Sinner downed an injured Djokovic in straight sets in 2025 – before beating Carlos Alcaraz in the final for his first Wimbledon title. It looked as if Sinner had taken his game to a level that perhaps even Alcaraz couldn’t reach – but he surrendered his US and Australian Open titles, losing to Alcaraz in New York and Djokovic in Melbourne and, after his French Open meltdown, Wimbledon is the only slam currently in his possession.
His aura certainly hasn’t vanished entirely – he’s still the world No 1, went on a brilliant run between Melbourne and Paris, and hasn’t dropped a set this tournament since his five-setter in the first round – but Djokovic will know Sinner is more vulnerable than he was last year; the Italian winning machine has almost turned human and the classic cyborg from Serbia will be determined to take advantage. It feels as if we write this every year, but Djokovic, still so fuelled by history and that quest for slam No 25 – that’s why he’s still playing at the age of 39 – may never get a better opportunity to confirm his outright GOAT-ness … if his body holds up.
Righto, my watch is over, but Djokovic and Sinner have come down the stairs, so it’s time to hand over to Katy, who’ll elevate what should be an absolute jazzer. Peace out.
Looking at the bottom half of the draw before the tournament started, it was hard to see anyone other than Zverev making it to the final – though I wondered if Fritz might put him under pressure. But he could not and nor, really, could anyone else – so here we are: a month after he won his maiden grand slam, after various near-misses, collapses and out-classings, he’s a match away from adding a second.
Zverev chuckles then says it’s amazing, this grand slam has always been the one he’s struggled with the most, but suddenly he’s in the final of Wimbledon. “I’m incredibly happy, incredibly proud, of the team as well, but we’ve got one more match to go on Sunday and that’s what the focus is on.”
After beating Fritz in the last eight, his performance was described as “flawless”, and today’s, he jokes, “Was OK, I guess.”
“I have to give credit to two things. First of all, Arthur: I think he’s going to be a senior citizen on our tour because I think he’s gonna play on this tour for 5+ years and he’s gonna have great results, this is just the beginning of his career and I really think that he’s gonna do amazing things in this sport.
“And then for me, the second thing is something that is incredible here. Yes, I know that 99.99% of the stadium was wanting Arthur to win but it was still such an incredible atmosphere, it was such a fair crowd as well – I enjoted every second of it even though, for me, a lot of stadiums, a lot of crowds in the world can take an example of this crowd and for me it’s one of the best crowds to play tennis on front of.”
Finally, asked if he’s a preference for who he meets in the final, he offers “I hope I can play a junior, that will be great. Whether it’s the defending champion someone who’s won here 48 times like Novak Djokovic , it’s not gonna be easy no matter who it is against, but I have to trust myself, believe that i can win, and that’s what I’m gonna do.”
Let’s hear what he’s got to say…
So Goliath beats David and Zverev moves into his first Wimbledon final. If he maintains the form he’s shown in his last two matches, whichever of Sinner and Djokovic he faces next has a problem.
ShareAlexander Zverev (2) beats Arthur Fery 7-6(0) 6-2 6-4
Fery (0)6-7 2-6-4-4-6 Zverev Decent return from Fery, then Zverev goes long, but he soo makes 15-all, then again comes to mid-court and hooks a forehand cross to the corner – he’s played that shot beautifully today – admittedly under little pressure. A serve and tidy then raises two match points, Fery’s historic run almost at an end … and a big delivery, followed by a wrong-footing backhand finishes things. They stand together at the net like Sid Little and Eddie large, Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe, then Fery departs to a richly deserved standing ovation, his life changed. Well played, old mate, well played.
Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 10.59 EDT
*Fery (0)6-7 2-6 4-5 Zverev At 30-0, a return on to the baseline forces Fery to net and, if I’m giving notes, that’s one: he’s got to get better at dealing with those balls. He responds with an ace, though, then another, and what a shame he couldn’t hit this serving seam earlier in the piece. After a little sit-down, Zverev will serve for the match.
Fery (0)6-7 2-6 3-5 Zverev* Zverev’s only lost four points on second serve the whole match, we learn, a ridiculous state of affairs. “Sickeningly good serve,” says Mac as another love hold means he’s within a game of the final. The last two matches, he’s played pretty much as well as he can, but will he be able to find a similar level in the final? Will he be allowed to?
Updated at 10.55 EDT
Rachel Hall
double quotation markBy the end of the first set, Wimbledon’s Henman Hill was so packed that security guards had closed entry, and a queue of dozens of frustrated Fery fans eager to claim their spot had built up at the entry point.
“Where are all these people coming from,” asked one exasperated security guard, as he tried to move spectators on from blocking pathways with growing desperation. One fan exclaimed: “It’s crazy trying to get a spot on the hill!”
George Pitchford, from Clapham, managed to squeeze on by arriving an hour early. It’s his sixth Wimbledon but he observed: “It’s crazy, I’ve never seen it this busy.”
A somewhat subdued atmosphere descended on the crowd as Fery struggled against Zverev in the first two sets.
“The game’s not going maybe as you would like it, but it’s decent,” Pitchford said, noting that Fery was looking “washed out a bit”.
He added: “I think everyone’s just so happy to see him. Such a good story, you know, it might end now but he’s been great.”
“It’s great to have firstly a British player in the semi-finals again, we’ve actually had a bit of a lull since Murray, so yeah it’s really nice to be able to get behind someone.”
“I miss Andy Murray, really,” said Sebastian Hazzan, from London, adding: “But he could be [the next one].”
He hoped that despite Fery’s struggles he might prevail. “I love an underdog, I guess, and he’s an inspiration.”
He and his friend Eve Eyimah were teetered with “one toe on the grass” on the edge of the hill in a desperate bid to evade the scrutiny of security guards. “They’re very strict,” Hazzan added.
*Fery (0)6-7 2-6 3-4 Zverev Fery wafts a forehand and, again from way behind the line, Zverev administers due punishment, leaping into a forehand winner. Then, next point, Fery comes in only to go long for no reason other than weight of pressure and when the next return arrives on to the baseline and near his feet, he’s no time to adjust. That’s 15 points in a row for Zverev as well as three chances to secure a double break … but Fery saves them all, one with an ace – his first of the match – and another with decent net-play; Zverev’s applause might’ve been well intentioned, but might’ve seemed patronising. But it takes us to deuce, another ace raises advantage … and yet another, Fery’s third of the game – he now knows what he has to do to hold – secures the game.
Updated at 10.50 EDT
Fery (0)6-7 2-6 2-4 Zverev* I’m afraid Fery knows – he’ll enjoy an affirming ovation when he leaves court, but he’s no response to the power, accuracy and conviction coming back at him from the other side of the net. Even when, at 30-0, Zverev leaves a ball short, the young man can’t capitalise, momentum soon reversed and the point soon confiscated, the love consolidation secured with a serve out wide and forehand clean-up.
Updated at 10.50 EDT
*Fery (0)6-7 2-6 2-3 Zverev Fery nets a backhand, then another forehand winner, inside-out to the corner, makes 0-30. The next point is pretty well constructed by the Brit, but from way behind the baseline and on the run, Zverev folds limbs to slaughter a backhand down the line that’s too good to return … then, from that same corner, he delivers a forehand cross that’s equally brilliant, and he’s hitting it so clean you wonder if he’s bleached his strings. Thus does he break, and he’s three games away from his first Wimbledon final, playing better than he ever has.
Updated at 10.51 EDT
Fery (0)6-7 2-6-2-2 Zverev* An old habit resurfaces as Zverev nets a volley he shouldn’t, but a netted return takes us to 15-all and a netted backhand to 30-15. And from there, another simple hold is secured – it’s been quite some time since Zverev has bee under any kind of threat.
*Fery (0)6-7 2-6 2-1 Zverev A fine return on to the line, then a monstrous backhand winner make 0-15, then another backhand incites the netted volley for 0-30; it really is one of the best shots in the game. Fery, though, fights back to 30-all, a service winner raises game point … then he’s fractionally wide with a backhand cross. He gets it right next time, though, this time line, and from there, secures his hold, playing better than in the second set – but can he make Zverev less comfortable?
Photograph: Andrew Couldridge/ReutersShare
Updated at 10.41 EDT
Fery (0)6-7 2-6 1-1 Zverev* Down 15-0, Fery tries a loopier return, for all the good it does him; Zverev again saunters into mid-court and puts it away, then follows it with an ace. And from there, he secures his love hold; I’d not be surprised to see him break next game.
*Fery (0)6-7 2-6 1-0 Zverev A much more authoritative game from Fery, but at 40-15 he wafts a backhand long to give Zverev a sniff … but finds a service winner to resolve the situation. The comeback is on…
Fery returns to court, but has the change of scene changed his game?
As you might, Fery nips off court for a change of scene – he hit just three winners in that set – so here’s something to read in the meantime:
ShareAlexander Zverev wins the second set to lead Arthur Fery 7-6(0) 6-2
Fery (0)6-7 2-6 Zverev* I wonder if Zverev will have the stones to play like against Djokovic or Sinner in the final – yes, assuming he gets to it – and how they might turn that proactivity against him. For now, though, he’s managing, quickly making 30-0 then, when Fery nets a return, he has three set points. And he only needs one, a serve out wide, another netted return, and I’m afraid this match feels over; Zverev is rampant.
Alex Zverev is just a set away from his first Wimbledon final. Photograph: Adam Davy/PAShare
Updated at 10.15 EDT
*Fery (0)6-7 2-5 Zverev Todd Woodbridge suggests Fery play more aggressively, and he’s a brilliant analyst who knows a lot more about this stuff than I do. Thing is, I’m sure he’d like to, I just think he can’t because of what’s coming at him from the other side of the net – it’s not intimidation, though there’s some of that I’m sure, just that his weapons have been taken away from him. And when, at 30-15, he sends down a double, the sense is that the set will soon be over, and though he does make 40-30, when he whacks a ball at Zverev, who ought really to have finished the point with his first volley, the second one does the trick, reactions ridiculous. Then, when Fery makes advantage, a double restores deuce … but the Brit closes out his first game won in five. Even the longest journey begins with one step.
Fery (0)6-7 1-5 Zverev* Fery comes in but his approach is too close to Zverev, whose lob leaves him stranded. Playing like this, he’s a nasty proposition, a 124mph second serve telling us everything about his state of mind, and though he doesn’t win the point, an ace follows for 40-15, the hold quickly secured. I fear Fery has nothing in his toolbox to deal with this onslaught.
*Fery (0)6-7 1-4 Zverev At this point, it’s hard to see Fery winning another game, and when Zverev winner makes 0-15, these last two matches the best I’ve seen him play on grass – by far. There’s never been such authority in his groundstrokes, nor such conviction in his decision-making, attacking options embraced, and at 15-30, he slices a backhand when he sees Fery coming in, then dashes to net to flick a pass on to the sideline, and he only needs one go at securing the double-break, another good return forcing the long response. Over the last two weeks, we’ve seen Fery come back from various unpromising situations, but the step-up in class looks too much for him to handle.
Fery (0)6-7 1-3 Zverev* Zverev is absolutely oozing confidence now, playing with freedom and adventure, mentality finally backing up physicality. A backhand winner, ushered line with Fery caught at net, makes 30-0, then the Brit nashes in after a poor drop only to net his riposte, then a forehand annihilated flat and line – at 103 mph! – secures the consolidation. Zverev is doing to Fery what he did to Fritz, hitting the shots he sees rather than second-guessing himself, and his power is just too much.
Zverev is well in control at the moment. Photograph: Marko Đurica/ReutersShare
Updated at 10.04 EDT
*Fery (0)6-7 1-2 Zverev A decent return to the baseline is too good for Fery, then another mid-court ball entices Zverev to come in and punish it – he’s latching onto those with extreme prejudice. Next, some serious bad luck for the Brit, a ballkid responding too eagerly and moving on to court before he can finish the point, then a forehand return smoked cross raises three break points, Fery nets a backhand, and i fear this is over as a contest.
Fery (0)6-7 1-1 Zverev* Fery makes Zverev play one more shot and he butchers a simple volley; he’s improved that aspect of his game, but it still looks forced. From 0-15, though, he gets to 40-15, only to shovel a backhand long; can Fery fid a return to get himself into the rally? His return is just about OK, but again, Zverev commits to attack, skipping in to punish a winner and, playing with aggression, he’s a far, far tricker opponent.
Updated at 09.49 EDT
*Fery (0)6-7 1-0 Zverev The match might be here: Fery must hold here. And when Zverev swats a dismissive forehand from centre to break the sideline, you worry for him; 0-15. But errors are creeping in so we wind up at 30-all, a vital service winner raising game point and another big delivery allowing a forehand into any part of the court to secure the hold … except Fery nets and, for the first time, he looks to be feeling the pressure. From deuce, though, he quickly closes out the hold, and he badly needed that.
ShareAlexander Zverev wins the first set against Arthur Ferry 7-6(0)
Fery (0)6-7 Zverev* Two quick holds from Zverev make 5-0, and all Fery’s hard work in the last hour looks to be for nowt. And you can see the confidence with which the German is playing, upping the pace to unleash a forehand that doesn’t come back, then a forehand return is monstered cross-court for a clean winner, and that is an emphatic a tiebreak as you’ll ever see. We don’t consider Zverev as someone able top up his game at crucial moments, but that French Open win has changed his on-court demeanour – he’s more proactive now.
Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The GuardianShare
Updated at 09.41 EDT
Fery 6-6 Zverev (0-3) Oh Arthur. Down 0-1, he sends down a double, ill timing we’ve rarely seen from him in this competition, and when Fery goes cross on the forehand and the ball falls wide, at 0-3, he’s in trouble.
Updated at 09.37 EDT
*Fery 6-6 Zverev Decent baseline hitting incites the unforced error and Zverev has 0-15, but a big serve then deft net-play makes 30-15 – Fery has tremendous hands an imagination. A moonball on to the baseline then encourages Zverev to net for 40-15, and at 40-30, a framed return means we’ll have a first-set breaker. This is going to be like Glastonbury: in tents.
Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The GuardianShare
Updated at 09.32 EDT
Fery 5-6 Zverev* Zverev beings with an ace and another gives him 40-0, then a forehand larruped on to the baseline means that, at worst, he’ll have a tiebreaker to win the set.
Otherwise, the Little Master is in the house, which gives me inordinate pleasure – and that’s before I see that so too is Tim from The Office, who seems to have spotted his illustrious companion.
Photograph: {photog}/AP Photograph: James Veysey/ShutterstockShare
Updated at 09.30 EDT
*Fery 5-5 Zverev Again, Fery handles his service-game impressively, making 40-0 before picking a decent time to send down his first double of the match. But might it cost him? Zverev lands another superb inside-out forehand on to the sideline, the kind of shot he might not’ve hit a coupe of months ago, but then directs a return into the net and that’s the hold.
Fery 4-5 Zverev* Fery sends a return on to the line and Zverev’s frames his response, which makes 15-all, but from there, he closes out. The Brit must now serve to stay in the set, scoreboard pressure mounting, the excitement that if he can keep holding, he can reduce this match to a few tiebreak-points here and there, which gives him a really good chance.
*Fery 4-4 Zverev So far, Fery’s holds have come fairly conclusively, and though a careless point means he’s down 0-15, he wins a rally from the back when Zverev errs, then nails a T-serve for 30-15. Oh, but from the centre of the baseline, an inside-out forehand to the corner put him under pressure … and again, he makes a nonsense of it, dashing in to play a +1 drop and exploiting how far back Zverev stands to return. A service winner follows, and this is deeply impressive behaviour from the Brit, who’s playing like he belongs.
Fery 3-4 Zverev* Fery’s enjoying himself now, whipping a forehand to the corner that Zverev can’t return. It’s soon 15-all though, after which two big serves take us to game point, and though the gap closes, a forehand winner to the corner secures the hold, and this is a decent contest.
Meantime, Darryl Accone gets in touch:
“Don’t Pay the Feryman”
(As neither composed nor sung by Chris de Burgh)
It was late at night on the Centre Court
Speeding like a man on the return
A lifetime spent preparing for the journey
He is closer now and the search is on
Reading from a map in the mind
Yes there’s the ragged Henman Hill
And there’s the boat on the river Thames
And when the rain came down
He heard a wild dog howl
There were voices in the night, (“Don’t do it”)
Voices out of sight, (“Don’t do it”)
Too many men have failed before
“Whatever you do
Don’t pay the Feryman
Don’t even fix a price
Don’t pay the Feryman
Until he gets you to the other side”
In the rolling mist then he gets on court
Now there’ll be no turning back
Beware that hooded old Djoko man at the rudder
And then the lightning flashed, and the thunder roared
And people calling out his name
And dancing bones that jabbered and a-moaned
On the water
And then the Feryman said,
“There is trouble ahead
So you must pay me now, “ (“Don’t do it”)
“You must pay me now, “ (“Don’t do it”)
And still that voice came from beyond
“Whatever you do
Don’t pay the Feryman
Don’t even fix a price
Don’t pay the Feryman
Until he gets you to the other side”
Yeah!
Don’t pay the ferryman
Don’t even fix a price
Don’t pay the Feryman
Until he gets you to the other side
Don’t pay the Feryman
Don’t even fix a price
Don’t pay the Feryman
Until he gets you to the other side.”
I forgot to use my Fery cross Cobolli line on Wednesday, but I guess if he wins, we can try Fery cross the Zvere.
*Fery 3-3 Zverev At 30-all, Zverev goes long, but Fery, though he opens shoulders on a forehand, can’t see off game point, a slice sitting up mid-court, and the treatment is duly applied; deuce. He quicky maskers advantage, though, a decent second-serve doping the business, then Zverev thrashes at a forehand and we’re back level.
In other news, the Spice Boys appear to be reincarnating.
Photograph: Karwai Tang/WireImage Photograph: Colorsport/REX ShutterstockShare
Fery 2-3 Zverev* Fery lands a get on to the line and Zverev nets, then there’s a dispute when a serve he thinks caught the tape is called good; 15-all. But another terrific get keeps him in the next rally, and though he doesn’t do enough when Zverev lays a drop that sits up, a netted responds means that, at 15-30, he’s a sniff. And have a look! Racing in to retrieve a drop, he not only gets there but caresses a beauty of a riposte across the face of the net, so oblique it would win the world athletics 100m, and the crowd explodes. Two break points, Zverev overhits a forehand, and that’s the break right back! This is shaping up!
ShareRachel Hall
double quotation markWimbledon’s iconic grass slope has had two monikers paying homage to homegrown talent in recent decades – Henman Hill and Murray Mound – and today tennis fans are hoping it might be renamed Arthur’s Seat if the latest British star triumphs in the semi-final.
The hill is looking the busiest it has been all fortnight, with barely an inch of grass left on which to sit as thousands of Arthury Fery fans arrived to watch the Centre Court on a big screen and soak up the atmosphere. Security guards are desperately urging visitors who failed to turn up early enough to avoid blocking pathways.
Those who had secured the best spots arrived at least two hours early – some with their laptops perched on their legs or picking up harried phone calls as they tried to juggle their work commitments with last minute leave to catch Britain’s greatest tennis hope.
Sophie Coles let her nine-year-old daughter, Florence, skip school for a day in SW19 on Wednesday after she got two ground passes through a friend. “We thought it was okay to take her out for the day,” Coles said. “It’s her goal to play here anyway.”
As the match got underway, the hill’s customary polite clapping exploded into loud cheers. One fan waved an England flag with “king Arthur” scrawled on top.
*Fery 1-3 Zverev Up 15-0, Fery mistimes a forehand, hooking it wide, then Zverev punishes a return cross-court for 15-30, and rams a forehand down the line to raise two break points. He’s motoring now, and when Fery nets from mid-court – pressure tells – the break is secured.
Fery 1-2 Zverev* Zverev nets a backhand … redeemed with an ace. A classic one-two combo follows, the a service winner for 40-15, and from there the holds is quickly secured. That’s much better from the German, but can he make an impression on the Fery serve?
*Fery 1-1 Zverev Fery begins well, three errors from Zverev taking him to 40-0, and again, he seems totally at home in a daunting situation – he’s be no fun in a cartoon, the anti-Shaggy. A further mistake from hands him the simplest of holds, and this is an impressive start. But given Zverev will surely improve, the question now is whether he can cash in before that happens.
Arthur Fery with a return to Zverev. Photograph: Ella Ling/ShutterstockShare
Updated at 08.54 EDT
Fery 0-1 Zverev* (*denotes server) Zverev’s easy power takes him to 30-0, but then Fery guides a backhand down the line and on to the tootsies – the crowd love it – with keeping the ball low is another way of taking away what his opponent does well, a crucial part of beating an overdog and a hobby horse of Jack Slack, the fight analyst. And a double follows for 30-all, but then a big serve sets up a swing volley … except an overhit backhand takes us to deuce, then Zverev can’t close out the game from advantage, and though he quickly resolves things from this second deuce, Fery is into the match. This is why he opted to receive, but can he get his serve going?
Updated at 09.15 EDT
Centre Court is abuzz, we’re ready for play, ready … play.
Fery wins the toss and opts to receive – either because he’s nervous and doesn’t want to serve until he’s settled, or because he wants to apply pressure right away. Or both.
What a walk this is, through the corridor and history, down the stairs, past the trophies and by the board; there goes the fear again.
Aha, here they come…
Photograph: Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 08.40 EDT
So where is the match? Fery will, I think look to hit backhands early and down the line, targeting Zverev’s forehand while stopping it from fully extending, and I expect him to try and get Zverev to the net, where he has the volleying edge. I also wonder if he’ll try some body-serves to cramp those long arms.
Zverev, I imagine, will do what he usually does, but will look to pin Fery in corners and on the baseline, so he can’t use his speed to run things down.
Oh man, we’re watching Fery taking questions from Mac, Henman and Bartoli. We said on Wednesday that his life would never be the same again and it won’t, but if he pulls it off today, he’ll enter an entirely new realm. What a fortnight this has been for 90s teenagers and fans of luscious curtains.
Photograph: Action Press/ShutterstockShare
BBC have just shown a message sent to Fery by none other than … Dan Burn. Imagine what a buzz that must’ve been, stuff of which dreams are made.
Email! “I have only one issue with your preamble,” says Krishnamoorthy V. “You can’t discuss Djokovic with Sinner, Zverev and Fery. The other three are humans.”
What he’s doing is so, so ridiculous – and he’s doing it, so it seems, without exacting the toll on body and mind that Nadal did. On which point, this is excellent on him and that.
Henry’s coach, Calvin Betton, is our resident expert, and he messages on today’s matches as follows – after I asked if he thinks Fery has top-30 ability:
double quotation markNot something I’ve heard anyone say. He’s very talented. But also it’s grass-court tennis, which is very particular, and he’s had a phenomenal draw. Backhand is elite level. He can take it so early. Especially on return. Has great hands and a good serve for a small lad. I give Fery half a chance just coz of how good a returner he is and Zverev isn’t that good on grass. Fery will take everything early and try rush him.
Housekeeping: while Katy was regaling you with yesterday’s brilliant women’s semis, I was lucky enough to be on No 1 Court for the men’s doubles, watching Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara make it through to their second Wimbledon final – they won it in 2024 – and their second grand slam final in a row – they lost in Paris.
It was a terrific match too, played in front of a riveted and near-capacity crowd, making an absolute nonsense of those claiming no one’s interested in doubles and seeking to take money from doubles players and give it to those already doing very nicely from singles. They meet Arevalo and Pavic in tomorrow’s final; do no miss it.
Also going on:
SharePreamble
The difference between sportsfolk who make it and sportsfolk who don’t is not talent. Which, for those of us with none, is hard to fathom, but the reality is more people have it than we think. What separates those who succeed from those who don’t – apart, from opportunity – is mentality.
Everyone is struggling with something – a fact we do well to remember when sitting in judgment, whether on ourselves or others. More or less, whatever our particular thing is, it will relate to emotional regulation and letting big feelings manage us, instead of the other way around. Whether we’re prone to anger or sadness, excitability or apathy, recklessness or anxiety, the challenge is not to ignore those sensations – feeling feelings is good for us – but to note their arrival, process their meaning, then let them pass because everything does.
Generally speaking, these are not tests imposed on us in front of a live or global audience – but it’s fun to imagine the reactions if they were! Sportsfolk, on the other hand, act out hyperreal fantasies, experiencing the very best and very worst, buzzing or gutted, gutted or buzzing, butted or guzzing, and are asked to deliver the best version of themselves before, during and after. We can understand playing brilliantly because we see it as something innate that we simply can’t do, just as those who can may not be able to do whatever it is we do on a daily. But life asks all of us to keep ourselves in check when circumstances are adverse, and, er, um, well.
Arthur Fery is so good at this it’s almost disconcerting. His first four matches in this tournament were won from behind and in fifth-set deciders, two of which required match tiebreakers, Then, in the last eight and as Flavio Cobolli – who, just a month ago, went five sets in the French Open final – disintegrated, he again showed no sign of nerves or panic, calmly but viciously charging through the tape like it was nothing. It was not nothing.
So this afternoon, the first British wildcard to reach the semis faces Alexander Zverev and you know what? He’s got a chance. Obviously the Roland-Garros champ is the favourite – he looked ominously good in dismantling Taylor Fritz the other day – but though they’ve improved, his forehand and volleying are still weaknesses, and though, now finally a grand slam winner, he may be able to compensate with confidence, he is still not entirely comfortable on grass.
Fery, though is a natural. His backhand, in particular, is a sensational shot, one he takes so early it’s almost prehumous and which he can use to rush Zverev – who, let us not forget, remains unrenowned for equilibrium under pressure. With the crowd behind him, he’ll believe he can do anything – another feeling beyond the ambit of those of us not cut out for elite sport – and maybe, just maybe, he’ll create history.
Following them on to court we’ve Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic, a classic match-up of great and greatest. When the former won this title a year ago, he looked to have upped his level beyond the rest of the field, but since then, things have changed. Carlos Alcaraz beat him comfortably in the US open final, Djokovic saw him off in the Australian semi, and in Paris, his body shut down in the heat – so emphatically, he lost to the unheralded Juan Manuel Cerúndolo from two sets and 5-1 up. Never has he looked so pregnable and so pervious, the preternatural composure that defined him suddenly undermined by circumstance; the sense of trepidation once felt by his opponents might just have passed to him, a cyborg humanised.
And there is no one better placed to exploit that than Djokovic, a doubt bloodhound, fear vampire, and the greatest matchplayer in the history of sport. He’s played brilliantly to get here, the surface suits him, and he knows he may never have a better chance to make it 25. But though he’s absolutely rabid for it, ability and mentality cohabiting in perfect harmony, question still begs: will his body comply? Even the strongest mind and most celestial talent can’t stop the time.
Play: 1.30pm BST
Updated at 08.40 EDT