Four games into his first grand slam semi-final, 23-year-old wildcard Arthur Fery produced the sort of moment of magic for which he has rapidly become famous. Having had his serve broken by Alexander Zverev, the Brit responded with ferocity, playing a superb backhand return before racing to a Zverev drop shot, replying with a stunning angled passing shot that flashed across the net, and which the German could only scoop up and wide.
Fery leapt for joy and punched the air to a huge round of applause. Zverev hit long in the next rally to concede the break and send the Centre Court crowd leaping to their feet in raptures, too. It was the kind of moment that summed up the Brit’s tournament: opportunity created out of nothing, his on-court intelligence putting him one or two steps ahead, and helping him wrestle himself back into contention.
