Three Grand Slam champions and home hero Arthur Fery complete the line-up.
A local lad into the Wimbledon final four, throw into the star cast a 24-time Grand Slam champion as well as the reigning Roland-Garros winner and the current world No.1. Could it get much better?
Let’s look ahead to the men’s semi-finals down at SW19 on Friday.
💪 The context / The current form
Last month at Roland-Garros, then-ranked world No.114 Maja Chwalinska made it all the way to the final, before Mirra Andreeva lifted the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen.
Across the channel to south-west London and another world No.114 is seeking to disrupt the established order. That’s Arthur Fery, who went to school in Wimbledon, grew up around the corner.
The 23-year-old has been steadily climbing up the tennis ladder and impressed during the grass court lead up events, but nothing indicated the wild card was about to go on such a wild run. Fery has downed Zizou Bergs, Grigor Dimitrov and No.9 seed Flavio Cobolli.
The last wild card to reach this stage was by Goran Ivanisevic at Wimbledon 2001. The Croatian won the title… Will the British crowd roar on their breakout star to those heights?
Across the net will be Alexander Zverev, the ruler of Roland-Garros a month ago. He knows exactly how to navigate these major pressure cooker situations. Take this fortnight, the world No.3 has improved round by round, defeating seeded duo Jiri Lehecka and Taylor Fritz in his latest two matches.
🏆 Their 2026 tournament
Just look at the scorelines, this has been one hell of an adventure for the Brit. In unchartered territory, Fery has continued to trust his tennis, hitting boldly on the rise, with exceptional movement to become only the fourth British man this century to play a semi-final at Wimbledon, joining an exclusive club of two-time champion Andy Murray, Tim Henman and Cameron Norrie. Fery has been on that level.
1st round: victory against Damir Dzumhur 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 (2hrs 40mins)
2nd round: victory against Otto Virtanen 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-3 (2hrs 58mins)
3rd round: victory against Zizou Bergs 2-6, 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(3), 7-6[10-5] (4hrs 39mins)
Round of 16: victory against Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6[10-7] (3hrs 55mins)
Quarter-finals: victory against Flavio Cobolli 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-0 (2hrs 14mins)
Pretty much the whole fortnight, when pushed and probed, the German has come up with the answers. The demolition of Fritz in the quarter-finals indicates the 29-year-old is in fine fettle to reach a fifth Grand Slam final.
1st round: victory against Alexander Blockx 6-4, 6-7(8), 7-6(5), 7-6(0) (2hrs 55mins)
2nd round: victory against Valentin Royer 6-1, 6-3, 7-6(3) (2hrs 4mins)
3rd round: victory against Marcos Giron 6-2, 7-6(4), 6-4 (2hrs 34mins)
Round of 16: victory against Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(6) (3hrs 22mins)
Quarter-finals: victory against Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 (1hr 59mins)
🆚 Face-to-face
First meeting!
🎤 Heard in media
Arthur Fery: “Zverev is a step up again. I'm ready for it. I have nothing to lose. I'm just going to go out there and just put my game on the court, do what I've done, believe in myself. We'll see where that takes me.”
Alexander Zverev: "For him it is a fairytale story - a Fery-tale for Arthur Fery, see what I did there?
"I have to trust myself and trust my tennis and see what happens.
“I’ve had my fair bits of upsets over the years, to be honest. But this year, I've been okay. I think people maybe overthink it. It's just another tennis match. Of course, it's a big match. There's a lot on the line. It's a Wimbledon final on the line. I think both of us, we both know that, for sure.”
💪 The context / The current form
Buckle up for yet another major blockbuster with Jannik Sinner vs Novak Djokovic.
12 months ago, also in the semi-finals, Sinner ruled 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 on Centre Court. Can Novak gain revenge? Will Sinner – who wilted in the scorching Parisian heatwave last month – keep his cool in roasting London heat?
They’re both playing sublime tennis, both proving their title credentials. With so much legacy building on the line, particularly for Djokovic being just two steps away from an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam, this match is essential viewing.
However, their previous matches, their form this fortnight, it all kind of flies out the window with these Grand Slam greats. On any day, any court, they fancy themselves to take the top prizes.
🏆 Their 2026 tournament
Reigning champion Sinner has bounced back from a rumbling first round to dominate proceedings across four other battles.
The serve is becoming increasingly potent and Sinner seems to have a real spring in his step, that was arguably missing in Paris.
1st round: victory against Miomir Kecmanovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-3 (3hrs 30mins)
2nd round: victory against Nuno Borges 7-6(4), 7-6(2), 6-4 (2hrs 32mins)
3rd round: victory against Jenson Brooksby 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 (2hrs 14mins)
Round of 16: victory against Shintaro Mochizuki 6-3, 7-6(0), 6-3 (2hrs 25mins)
Quarter-finals: victory against Jan-Lennard Struff 7-5, 7-6(4), 6-3 (2hrs 35mins)
Has Djokovic replenished his resources enough? The Serbian must refill the tank rapidly, after surviving the longest Wimbledon quarter-final ever on Wednesday night under the Centre Court lights.
The fitness and conditioning have held up, the tennis has at times been majestic.
1st round: victory against Yibing Wu 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 (3hrs 12mins)
2nd round: victory against Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 (1hr 38mins)
3rd round: victory against Arthur Rinderknech 7-5, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4) (3hrs 1min)
Round of 16: victory against Roman Safiullin 7-6(6), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 (3hrs 26mins)
Quarter-finals: victory against Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6(10), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7(4) 7-6[10] (5hr 15mins)
🆚 Face-to-face
Not only did these Hall of Famers duel last year at Wimbledon, earlier this season at the Australian Open, Djokovic snapped a five-matching losing streak to the Italian with a gladiatorial 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 triumph in the semi-finals at Melbourne Park.
That’s if you need any reminder that Djokovic still has what it takes at the major level. That was their most recent collision, moving the dial to 6-5 in Sinner’s favour.
🎤 Heard in media
Jannik Sinner: "I feel like every match is different. Even when I had this small streak with him, I felt like every match has really its own story. Especially when you play on a surface like this, if you have a bad serving day or not feeling the ball very well, it's going to be very, very tough.
“In any case, I'm happy to be back in the semis. I'm happy to fight for every ball, then we see. More I cannot do, so... He has won this tournament so many times and he knows exactly how to approach it. I'm looking forward to it.”
Novak Djokovic: "Let's see. We'll see. Future will tell.
“I had a very long semis against Sinner (at the Australian Open)… Obviously that was the first big tournament of the year for me, coming fresher from several months of break and preparation.
“It's a bit different now. But nevertheless, another great, historic run for me at the Grand Slams. This is what counts the most, honestly. I still try to prove to myself and others that I'm able to compete with the best players in the world and beat them in the biggest stage. That's what I've done in Australia. It's what I've done here.
“Hopefully I can do it few more matches here in London.”
ROLAND-GARROS
17 May - 6 June 2027
