Surprise Wimbledon semifinalist Arthur Fery developed his game at Stanford University

LONDON (AP) — There’s also an American angle to the French-born British player who grew up five minutes from the All England Club and has reached the semifinals as a wild card at Wimbledon.

Arthur Fery honed his game by playing three years of college tennis for Stanford University, where he was a two-time All-American.

Now he’s the first former Stanford player to reach the last four at Wimbledon since John McEnroe’s eighth and final Wimbledon semifinal in 1992, when McEnroe was beaten by eventual champion Andre Agassi.

Stanford University coach Paul Goldstein flew in for the occasion and was watching inside Centre Court when Fery eliminated French Open runner-up Flavio Cobolli in straight sets in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

“Arthur always displayed an emotional maturity and a wisdom beyond his years,” Goldstein told The Associated Press. “When I worked with him at school, it always felt like it was as much of a peer-to-peer relationship as it was coach-to-student relationship with a 25-year age gap between us.”

As a sophomore in 2021-22, Fery became Stanford’s first No. 1 ranked singles player since Bob Bryan nearly quarter century before him.

Before Fery signed for Stanford, Goldstein came over to see him play in the Wimbledon junior tournament in 2019. Fery reached the third round in singles and the semifinals in doubles.

“Just a highly intelligent person, certainly plays the game with a high tennis IQ as well,” Goldstein added. “His game was at an elite level from an early age. A very independent thinker, he just approached the game with a high level of professionalism from the time he got to school.”

Still, Fery’s 58-16 singles record over his three years at Stanford didn’t make anyone think he would make the jump to a Grand Slam contender.

In what has been labeled a “Ferytale,” Fery faces French Open champion Alexander Zverev on Friday for a spot in the championship match — with Sunday’s final to be played on Fery’s 24th birthday.

Ranked No. 114, Fery is the outlier in the semifinals among No. 1 and defending champion Jannik Sinner — who will meet seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic (No. 8) in the other semifinal — and No. 3 Zverev.

“What you’re seeing on display this week is a level of poise and composure that is beyond words,” Goldstein said. “Pick your superlative and multiply it by 100.”

Fery is now coached by Jeroen Benard and Benoit Foucher.

“Full credit to Arthur and his team for what they are accomplishing this year,” Goldstein said. “I am privileged to be an observer. And supporter.”

Academics led Fery to Stanford

Fery, who was also an Academic All-American at Stanford, said he selected the school in Palo Alto, California, because of the academics.

“Because it was going to give me a great backup plan if tennis didn’t work out,” Fery said. “It was just a great mix between academics and a super-strong tennis program.”

Fery majored in science, technology and society at Stanford.

“It helped me mature, gave me a bit of time without too much pressure,” Fery said. “Just develop personally more than tennis-wise.”

Fery doesn’t need to worry about his tennis career fizzing out anymore. He’s the first wild card to reach the men’s singles semifinals at the All England Club since Goran Ivanisevic’s run to the Wimbledon title in 2001.

Bryan brothers

Bryan and his identical twin brother, Mike, developed into the sport’s best doubles team after their time at Stanford during the late 1990s. They credit Stanford with preparing Fery to handle the pressures of playing on Centre Court at Wimbledon.

“When we went to the University of Georgia, there were 6,500 barking dogs eating us alive,” Bob Bryan said. “We went to Spain (for Davis Cup) and played in front of 30,000 in a soccer stadium, it wasn’t that bad. So college tennis prepares you for these environments.”

The Bryans and Goldstein were teammates at Stanford as players, winning two national championships together. Bob Bryan beat Goldstein in the 1998 NCAA singles final.

The Bryans — who have a total of four Wimbledon titles between them — got Goldstein a last-minute pass into Wimbledon when he came over.

“We’ve met Arthur a few times in Palo Alto,” Bob Bryan said. “We compared him a little bit to (former U.S. Open finalist Kei) Nishikori: Same build, beautiful backhand, can change direction. He was a quiet leader at Stanford. But all the players really respected him and they knew his ability. I don’t think it’s a big surprise to anyone that knows Arthur.”

Critical time for college tennis

Fery’s breakthrough coincides with several college tennis programs being cut in recent months as Division I schools choose to redirect resources to fund direct payments to athletes in football and basketball.

With elite D1 tennis programs populated by foreigners, there’s also a debate about introducing regulations to reserve spots on teams for American players.

There were 36 players in this year’s men’s and women’s singles at Wimbledon with college experience.

“This is another validation and example of how college tennis is being played at the highest level,” Goldtsein said. “More and young people are globally seeing this as a viable pathway towards making an impact at the professional game.”

Added Bob Bryan, “The level is off the charts. There’s definitely a place for college in between the (World Tennis) juniors and pro tennis. I think anyone coming out of the juniors should go test their level collegiately and to see if they’re ready for the pros.”

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AP Sports Writer Ken Maguire contributed.

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This story has been corrected to show that Fery’s quarterfinal opponent was Flavio Cobolli.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis