Another chapter in one of the great sporting stories will be written on Centre Court this afternoon as Britain’s Arthur Fery takes on French Open champion Alexander Zverev for a place in the Wimbledon final.
The local lad, who grew up a stone’s throw from the All England Club after moving to the UK from France at the age of 2, is aiming to become only the second wild card to reach a men’s Grand Slam final.
Goran Ivanisevic was the other and he went on to win the trophy here in 2001.
The second semi-final sees defending champion Jannik Sinner go up against Novak Djokovic, who’s bidding for a record 25th major title.
Statement from King’s College School, Wimbledon.
“King’s shares more than just a name with the Wimbledon Championships: the history of the two is deeply intertwined.
“Henry ‘Cavendish’ Jones (OK 1847) was a founding member of what was then called the All England Croquet Club, now known as the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC). It was Jones who proposed that one of the croquet lawns be dedicated to playing lawn tennis, and the next year – in 1877 – Wimbledon was born. Jones was one of those chosen to draw up the new regulations for the Championships, many of which remain in play today.
“Arthur Fery, who left King’s in 2020, is the 14th former pupil to play at Wimbledon.
“For Arthur to have reached the semi-finals is a huge source of pride for all of us at King’s. He has shown great resilience, courage and determination, applying the same mindset on court as he did to his academics and co-curricular interests. We wish him the best of luck in today’s semi-final.”
