07/10/26 10:17:00
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07/10 10:15 CDT Zverev to play for 2nd straight Grand Slam trophy in Wimbledon
final after ending Fery's run
Zverev to play for 2nd straight Grand Slam trophy in Wimbledon final after
ending Fery's run
By ANDREW DAMPF
AP Sports Writer
LONDON (AP) --- Alexander Zverev will play for another major trophy, this time
in the Wimbledon final, a month after winning his first Grand Slam title at the
French Open.
Zverev ended the "Ferytale" run of British wild card Arthur Fery with an
overpowering 7-6 (0), 6-2, 6-4 victory in the semifinals at the All England
Club on Friday.
Zverev, whose breakthrough at Roland Garros came in his fourth Grand Slam
final, is attempting to become the first man in the professional era (since
1968) to win his second title at the next event immediately after his first
major trophy.
The 114th-ranked Fery, who grew up five minutes from the All England Club and
played at Stanford University, was attempting to become the first wild card to
reach the final since Goran Ivanisevic won Wimbledon in 2001.
In Sunday's final, Zverev will meet either defending champion Jannik Sinner or
seven-time Wimbledon winner Novak Djokovic, who were up next on Centre Court.
Djokovic beat Sinner in their last meeting in five sets in the Australian Open
semifinals.
It was another warm day in southwest London, with the temperature rising to
about 85 degrees Fahrenheit (29 Celsius). It was also breezy and a bit cloudier
than in recent days.
Zverev did well not to let the pro-Fery crowd get behind the local player too
much and a double fault from Fery early in the first-set tiebreaker put Zverev
in control.
The 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Zverev was also able to dominate with his serve,
which he cranked up to 139 mph (224 kph).
The 5-foot-9 (1.75-meter) Fery, by comparison, was serving closer to 120 mph
(193 kph).
The British spectators did their best to encourage Fery early on, chanting his
name between points as they sipped their Pimm's under their wide-brimmed hats.
At one point early on, chair umpire Marijana Veljovic had to tell the crowd to
pipe down.
"Ladies and gentlemen: Do not react, if possible, until the end of the point,"
Veljovic said, before adding later in the first set: "Once again, do not react
during the rally. That's very disturbing for both players," which was met with
a round of applause.
When it was over, Fery walked off to a standing ovation and applauded the crowd
in return.
Zverev had previously never been past the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Now he's the first German man to reach the final of the grass-court Grand Slam
since Boris Becker lost to Pete Sampras in 1995.
The last German man to win Wimbledon was Michael Stich, who beat Becker in the
1991 final.
Becker, the three-time Wimbledon champion, wished Zverev "congratulations" in
German on X: tweeting "Glckwunsch Sascha !!!," using the player's nickname.
The women's final on Saturday features two Czech players, Karolina Muchova
against Linda Noskova.
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AP Sports Writer Ken Maguire contributed to this report.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
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