Arthur Fery’s fairytale Wimbledon run finally comes to an end – as British wildcard is thumped in straight sets by Alexander Zverev to end captivating story, writes MATTHEW LAMBWELL

Even the most charming fairy tale tends to turn ugly when its hero encounters a hungry giant.

5ft 9in wildcard Arthur Fery wowed the nation with a run to the Wimbledon semi-finals but faced Alexander Zverev at lunch on Friday and the 6ft 6in German swallowed him.

In a tight first set, we had hope that David could beat Goliath. But this biblical story was the exception that proved the rule, and in the end Zverev was throwing Fery around the field like a rag doll. The 29-year-old French Open champion prevailed 7-6, 6-2, 6-4 and will face Jannik Sinner, who defeated Novak Djokovic in straight sets, in his first Wimbledon final on Sunday.

Fery was ultimately powerless against the world’s deadliest serve, backed by a safe all-round game.

‘It’s been a great two weeks for me but it still hurts,’ Fery said. ‘For some reason I didn’t feel as comfortable as other days. Partly because of the way he plays, balls are coming back quicker than I’m used to, my footwork or mentally isn’t as sharp. ‘He picks up pretty quickly against a player like that.’

German star Zverev proves too strong for Brit despite relentless efforts

Zverev’s quality was revealed when Fery was defeated 6-7, 2-6, 4-6 in the semi-final match.

To give an idea of ​​the grandeur and magnitude of the occasion, only two British men have reached the Wimbledon singles final since the First World War: one already has a statue in the All England Club, and the other’s likeness is being molded in clay as we speak.

That’s the weight of history on the shoulders of 23-year-old Fery as he attempts to join Fred Perry and Andy Murray on British sport’s biggest stage.

If Fery was checking social media (which he isn’t) he would wake up to a good luck video message from England footballers Eberechi Eze, Mark Guehi and Dan Burn.

There were also sporting royals in the Royal Lodge – and how fitting it was to see the Little Master with cricketers 6-foot-1 Brian Lara and 5-foot-1 Sachin Tendulkar. It was as if the little athletes had come to cheer for one of them. It was probably only participation in the World Cup that prevented Lionel Messi from being there as well.

Fery was trying to become the shortest man since 1.70m Australian prodigy Ken Rosewall to reach the Wimbledon final in 1974, and even though he was defeated, his run there gave the little man hope.

Although Fery was unfamiliar with such an event, it was also uncharted territory for Zverev. In nine previous visits to the All England Club the No. 2 seed had failed to advance beyond the fourth round and started hesitantly.

Fery was making him bend to receive low balls and show off his clumsy net play.

Fery was supported by many celebrities on Friday, including actor Benedict Cumberbatch.

Fery’s father Loic (centre) also cheered him on on Center Court in the scorching London heat

However, poor play from the wildcard gave Zverev an early break and the match then came to life at 3-1. First, Fery was convinced that Zverev’s serve had reached the top of the net and therefore had to be replayed. ‘Network. ‘Everyone heard that,’ he protested to referee Marijana Veljovic. ‘You can hear it from the back row.’ But Veljovic had heard nothing, so no dice was cast on Fery.

At 15-30 he took matters into his own hands, using his lightning feet to follow up Zverev’s volley and his velvet hands to slide the ball across the area – a pretty perfect shot. The German, who looked clumsy in comparison, could only poke wide. There was an explosion on Center Court when Zverev moved long on the next point to return a break of serve. After a quiet start, Fery got the audience involved in the game.

There was a psychological dimension to Fery’s breach of Zverev’s goal so early. As they say in Predator: ‘If he bleeds, we can kill him.’

After this wave of excitement, we moved towards a tiebreaker, but unfortunately Fery double-faulted on the first serve point and then missed his forehand. Zverev accepted these gifts and overcame the 7-0 score.

It’s extremely frustrating for Fery. Zverev looked vulnerable early on, and much of the Englishman’s game plan (putting his opponent on goal, blocking big first serves) was working well. But sloppy concessions such as an early break and a terrible start to the tiebreak cost him dearly.

Zverev played a mediocre set but a flawless tiebreaker, and that’s what greats do. Taking the opening set was always going to free him up, and so it was.

There was an element of bad luck as Fery suffered an early collapse in the second set. At 0-30, Zverev took a wrong turn and a ball boy inexplicably darted towards the ball as Fery approached to clear it, so the point had to be replayed – whereupon Zverev blocked his forehand.

Zverev had previously failed to advance past the fourth round at Wimbledon but is now in the final

Fery received an excellent welcome from the Wimbledon fans as he left the field at the end of the match.

Fery, to his credit, didn’t make a fuss – the ball boy must have felt terrible – but that’s when the match began to leak through his fingers.

There was time for the final dose of Fery magic in the third set, as the player won with a half volley to receive applause from his opponent. But the challenge came after a run of 15 consecutive points from Zverev, who closed out the match with minimal fuss.

“This Grand Slam has always been what I strive for the most, and suddenly I was in the Wimbledon final,” Zverev said. The big man’s game on grass courts has improved greatly and his forehand, once so unreliable, is lethal.

There are signs that he is finally breaking loose having won his first Grand Slam in Paris last month and he has the chance to add a second tomorrow/Sunday.

Fery’s career has now begun. When the rankings are adjusted on Monday, he will rise from 114th to 36th in the world, become Britain’s No.1 and qualify for the biggest events around the world. Now he needs to show that these two weeks are not just a fairy tale; Prove that you can survive steadily in the land of giants.