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Zverev ends wildcard Fery's run to reach first Wimbledon final / Photo: © AFP
Zverev ends wildcard Fery's run to reach first Wimbledon final
French Open champion Alexander Zverev ended the remarkable run of British wildcard Arthur Fery with a dominant semi-final victory on Friday to reach his first Wimbledon final.
The second seed will face either reigning champion Jannik Sinner or seven-time winner Novak Djokovic for the title on Sunday after seeing off Fery 7-6 (7/0), 6-2, 6-4 on Centre Court.
Zverev is the first German man to reach the final at the All England Club since Boris Becker in 1995.
He stands one win 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 maiden Grand Slam title, which he achieved at Roland Garros last month, and then reach the final of his next major tournament.
He had never even got past the last 16 in nine previous visits to the All England Club.
Zverev will face a much tougher examination 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 only has one win from five Grand Slam matches against Djokovic, which was when the 24-time major champion retired injured after one set of their 2025 semi-final in Melbourne.
Fery was the first wildcard to reach the Wimbledon men's semis since Goran Ivanisevic 25 years ago, but his hopes of emulating the popular Croat by going all the way were dashed by a ruthless Zverev.
The home crowd's new hero will be able to console himself with the a rise from 114th to 36th in the ATP rankings, guaranteeing entry into tennis' biggest events.
The British dream of a first men's finalist 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 quietened the crowd with a brilliant tie-break, racing through it with a flurry of blistering serves and groundstrokes.
Fery only managed three winners in a one-sided second set as Zverev took total control of the semi-final.
Zverev broke in the fifth game of the third set, before comfortably getting over the finish line on serve to book his spot in a final which Fery will have to watch from home on his 24th birthday.
R.Baker--SFF
