Alexander Zverev reaches his first Wimbledon final and faces Jannik Sinner

Already the first set went in favor of the German, although Fery pushed back fiercely at times. Zverev decided the tiebreak 7:0 in his favor, thereby setting the course for victory early against the world number 114. In the second set he managed the early break, then the player from Hamburg raced to a 6:2, which also included two breaks to 2:1 and 4:1. In the third set he secured the early break to 3:2 – that was enough to bring the match home with authority.

Reactions after the match

On court, Zverev appeared relaxed and spoke directly into the TV cameras: "Ich bin unglaublich glücklich und stolz", the relaxed winner confessed. He had previously said: "Und plötzlich stehe ich im Finale. Ich bin unglaublich stolz und glücklich." With a view to the upcoming final opponent he added: "Ich habe aber noch ein Match vor mir, und auf diesem liegt der Fokus." He did not reveal a preference for Sinner or Djokovic: "Ob es im Finale der Titelverteidiger wird oder der, der hier schon gefühlt 48-mal gewonnen hat mit Novak Djokovic, ist eigentlich egal. Es wird sowieso schwierig."

For Zverev it is the fifth Grand Slam final of his career, after his first major triumph at the French Open only around five weeks earlier. "Nur fünf Wochen nach seinem ersten Grand-Slam-Titel bei den French Open hat er nun Chancen auf einen weiteren Erfolg in einem Endspiel", it was noted. By reaching the final he will overtake the currently injured Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz as world number two on Monday. Sinner, the current world number one, had previously defeated Serbia's Novak Djokovic 6:4, 6:4, 6:4 in the second semifinal.

Fery's fairy-tale run

On the other side of the net stood Arthur Fery, a 23-year-old Briton who wrote a fairytale story. As world number 114, he had gone to school only one and a half kilometers from the grounds and had the home crowd on his side. The local hero was only the second player after former Croatian Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic to first receive a wildcard and then make it all the way to the penultimate round. Despite the defeat, he will improve his ranking by around 80 places.

The crowd frenetically cheered Fery at the beginning and did not hold back when the Briton made a double fault. The umpire asked, "wenn möglich" not to make noise during the rallies. Zverev for his part gave back his early break to 3:1 in the first set because the spectators in the opening phase were yelling and jumping up from their seats. "Somit wurde der beste deutsche Tennisspieler zum Spielverderber für die zahllosen britischen Fans unter den rund 15.000 Zuschauern und nahm ihnen den Enthusiasmus", the Deutsche Presse-Agentur concluded.

With his run to the final, Zverev inscribed himself in an illustrious series: alongside Michael Stich and Boris Becker, he is the third German finalist in the men's event in the professional era since 1968, after Stich (1991) and Becker (1985, 1986, 1989). Across genders, a triumph on Sunday would be the first German Wimbledon success since Angelique Kerber in 2018. Zverev could become the 14th male champion at the grass classic overall should he down Sinner or Djokovic.

Becker, Stich and German Wimbledon history

He is aware of the size of the task. Before the semifinal he had said: "Dieser Grand Slam war immer der, bei dem ich am meisten zu kämpfen hatte. Aber ich muss mich auf mich selber konzentrieren." Boris Becker, three-time Wimbledon champion and once a sharp critic of the player from Hamburg, had predicted before the match: "Das ist die Chance seines Lebens, und das meine ich im Ernst, Wimbledon zu gewinnen."

At the same time, the sporting ambition received prominent political support: the Chancellery confirmed in Berlin that Chancellor Merz is traveling to Wimbledon for the final. This gives the final special attention from a German perspective beyond the sporting significance – especially since Zverev had recently "sichtlich an Selbstsicherheit gewonnen", as observers noted after the Paris triumph.

Chancellor Merz travels to the final

At 28 – in Wimbledon terms right in the best tennis age – Zverev had emphasized before the tournament how special this Grand Slam was for him. Fery's run to date had caused a stir because he had made it that far as a qualifier and wildcard holder. Over the entire tournament he had previously not lost a tiebreak, before losing 0:7 on Friday – still a huge success for him. "Das ist natürlich eine wunderschöne Geschichte", Zverev commented after winning the set.

The Tokyo Olympic champion of 2021 increasingly controlled the match and put Fery under pressure the longer the contest went on. The fact that the crowd worked against him did not seem to bother him – on the contrary: "Es ist unglaublich", the 29-year-old said on Centre Court, visibly relieved about his biggest success to date at the grass classic.

Sinner awaits in the final

In the second semifinal on Friday evening, defending champion Jannik Sinner clearly decided the match against Novak Djokovic 6:4, 6:4, 6:4 in his favor. The Italian and world number one further extends his already impressive record at the grass classic. Zverev therefore meets the top favorite on Sunday – and not the 39-year-old Serb, who with 24 Grand Slam titles is the record winner in this category.

Final preparations take place on Saturday, the final will be held on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. on Centre Court and can be seen live on Prime Video. Should Zverev win, he would be the first male champion at the grass classic since Michael Stich in 1991. Becker had previously been the last German men's player to reach a Wimbledon final, when he did so once more in 1995.