British wild card beats ninth seed to reach Wimbledon semifinals

British wild card Arthur Fery defeated ninth-seeded Flavio Cobolli 6-4, 7-6 (4), 6-0 on Centre Court to reach the Wimbledon semifinals Wednesday. Fery, 23, earned a standing ovation after taking the first set. The roar after he won the second-set tiebreaker carried into No. 1 Court, where Alexander Zverev was finishing a straight-sets victory over Taylor Fritz.

Match details Cobolli committed 41 unforced errors to Fery's 15 and broke serve only once. Fery broke back in the fourth game of the second set and closed the match with an ace before falling to the court in celebration. Cobolli said he felt he expressed less than half his level. Fery said the final game brought emotions he had never felt before.

Path and context Fery needed a wild-card invitation to enter the tournament.

Fery is the fifth British man to reach the Wimbledon semifinals in the Open era and the first unseeded British player to do so. He has played 25 sets at this tournament after entering with 21 sets played across his prior Grand Slam career.

Semifinal matchup Zverev completed his 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 win over Fritz shortly after Fery's match ended, setting up a semifinal against Fery on Friday. Fery said the experience keeps improving with each match and that he cannot believe the run. He turns 24 on the day of the men's final.