Key events
Fritz holds for 4-6 2-1, then out comes the trainer to look at his right knee, a chronic situation; let’s hope he’s OK.
I’m not sure why, but Fritz is giving Zverev a lot of balls to his backhand, though it’s one of the best shots in the game; perhaps the aim is to turn his strength against him, but so far it’s not working. The German holds for 6-4 1-1, while Fritz has the trainer on standby as he decides what to do about his achy knee.
Fery’s ability to sustain a good level is very impressive – the best players, of anything, aren’t those whose best is the best, but those whose bottom and modal levels are highest. He gets himself to deuce on the Cobolli serve too, but an ace follows, then another, and that’s great stuff – he’s another with serious mentality.
Zverev leaps into a forehand down the line – he’s so much better at that shot than he was – raising break point in the process. Of course, Fritz then disburses a gigantic serve, then another, backed up with weapons-grade forehand … but he can’t close out the game, so back to advantage we go. From there, though, Fritz secures the hold, to trail 4-6 1-0.
Cobolli complains about noise, not for the first time, and the crowd enjoy his discomfiture – not something he shows us often. Then, when play resumes, Fery holds to 30, showing great patience in not seeking to hit a winner until it’s on. He leads 6-4 3-2.
Zvwerev opens the game with an ace but Fritz is varying his game more now, chipping when he might flat-back and making 15-30. Then he defends really well, taking the sting out of the rally, and whn Zverev errs he introduces racket to grass before facing the two break points; the first disappears via ace … and the second via unreturned serve. Another unreturned serve makes advantage, another seals the deal, and Zverev leads Fritz 6-4.
Back Centre, Fery has a break-back point and doesn’t he attack it, a heavy top-spinning forehand doing the business, and we’re back on serve at 2-2 in the second, first to Fery.
Cobolli consolidates to trail 4-6 2-0, while Fritz holds, challenging Zverev to serve for the set at 5-4. That first game aside, he’s struggled to make an impression, and perhaps lacks the variety necessary to dominate on grass.
Zverev feels confident. Leading 4-3 with game point on serve, after sending down a fault, rather than take pace off he puts it on – the kind of attitude so often missing when he plays big matches – and now leads 5-3 in the first, giving Fritz almost nothing to go on.
Fritz has a knee bothering him – he’s flexing and stretching it out – the last thing you need when down a break to Zverev at 4-3. Cobolli, meantime, immediately brings Fery back down to earth to shore, breaking him to love, and all that hard work might have already been undone.
Fery holds to love, and his ability to play his natural and best game, against top players and on Centre Court, is seriously impressive. He doesn’t wait to be asked, instead taking attacking options, and they – along with a double – help him to 5-4 30-all, two points away from the set. The umpire then interrupts proceedings, asking spectators not to open bottles between points, and Cobolli doubles again, meaning Fery has set point! And he whams a decent return back towards the baseline … then Cobolli tries an expansive inside-out forehand, perhaps the right shot but definitely not he sensible one, it’s wide, and Arthur Fery wins the first set 6-4! This is getting silly now.
Zverev’s doing well to disrupt Fritz’s rhythm, using the forehand slice to vary angle and pace. That early break will have him feeling pretty good, because he rarely loses his own serve, and so far, he’s winning the tactical battle, up 3-2 with a break.
Cobolli is playing nicely – his forehand is a helluva shot and, because his levers are relatively short, he’s able to whip it through hard and flat, all the more so because he’s so quick. He holds to 30 for 4-4, the break never in conception, while Zverev consolidates to lead Fritz 3-1.
Fery closes to 30-all, but a leaping forehand, whipped cross-court, gives Cobolli break point, and he has a look at a second serve … but it’s delivered with power and the forehand return flies long. I really like the way Fery sets himself before hitting his backhand – there’s something of Djokovic in that – and he uses it to secure his hold while, on No 1, Fritz plays an ill-advised drop when down break point, and Zverev deals with it, breaking for 2-1 in the first.
I can’t say I entirely understand why Fritz v Zverev is on No 1 – it’s a much better match, featuring far more likely champs, than Cobolli v Fery. And trailing 0-1, Zverev has to save a break point before securing his hold.
Cobolli levels at 3-3, and what a time he’s having. It’s great to watch players really enjoy what they do, and though the grind may eventually rob his joy, it feels like he and it are here to stay. Meantime, he’s makes 0-30 on the Fery serve…
Thanks Katy and hi everyone. I’m going to begin with an apology: doing Dimitrov v Fery the other day, I didn’t really think the upset was on. Rather, I assumed that Griggzy would do whatever the situation demanded he do, and my commentary reflected that. Well, I was wrong: Griggzy’s ability to find a way to lose remains legendary, but I was also surprised by how calm Fery stayed, and by his ability to sustain a suitable level. If he keeps focused, he’ll be in the top 30 before too long; he leads Cobolli 3-2 on serve.
Just as Fritz steps up to serve, so does Daniel to begin his stint. Over to you, Daniel …
Another Fery hold, this time to 15, and now he’s got 0-15 on Cobolli’s serve … and then 0-30, when he’s wise to Cobolli’s drop shot and then volleys away a winner on his next shot. Coming to the net could be a useful tactic against Cobolli, not allowing the Italian to settle in the rallies, and he would be wise to stop Cobolli using his ferocious forehand wherever possible. But Cobolli charges back to 30-all, and takes the next two points as well for 2-2.
“Hi Katy,” emails Simon McMahon. “If this match is half as good as either of their previous matches, or indeed Djokovic’s epic against Auger-Aliassime last night, it’ll be a cracker. I can’t email during Wimbledon and not mention the fact that I still miss Andy, 13 years now since he beat Novak in that final, and 10 years since he won his second title. Surely won’t be another 77 years before we have another champion …”
Fery, playing on Centre Court for his second successive match, after that five-set win over Dimitrov, opens his serve with a hold to 30, before Cobolli does the same. So it’s 1-1 … just as Fritz and Zverev arrive on No 1 Court, with Fritz doing a better job of taking off his suit than he has done before previous matches. He’ll be hoping he can show some similarly smooth moves from here.
But anyway, these two have surprisingly (given Fery’s lack of experience at the highest level) met before, at the Australian Open in January, when Fery as a qualifier defeated an ailing Cobolli, who was struggling with a stomach problem, in straight sets. Cobolli will be a totally different proposition today … he’s having the summer of his life, having reached the French Open final, and is the significantly higher-ranked of the two: at world No 10 he’s 104 places above Fery in the rankings.
Kostyuk’s emphatic win means Arthur Fery steps on to Centre Court, perhaps a little earlier than he expected, alongside Flavio Cobolli. But nothing has fazed the British wildcard during this fortnight so far; he’ll take this in his stride too. The temperature is 33C as the players start their warm-up, with the stands perhaps a quarter full. I’m sure the spectators will be back soon to cheer their local hero, who perhaps could have offered up his Wimbledon house to Cobolli when the Italian revealed after his impressive last-16 win over Alex de Minaur that he was searching for new accommodation. That would have led to an interesting breakfast this morning.
Noskova defeats Mertens 6-3, 7-5!
One break of serve in each set was enough for the 21-year-old to secure victory. Navratilova, Novotna, Kvitova, Krejcikova, Vondrousova … could Noskova be the latest Czech-born player to conquer Wimbledon? Having won the warm-up event in Berlin, her confidence must be nearly as high as Kostyuk’s. I wouldn’t want to pick a winner – or be the poor balls – in that semi-final. It’ll be first-strike tennis from two of the game’s biggest hitters. “The feelings are incredible,” Noskova says. “I was a little bit nervous before the match, I’m not going to lie.” Not that she showed it – it was nerveless the way she served the match out to love.
Paolini endeared herself to the Wimbledon crowd when she reached the final two years ago, but now Centre Court has got a new star, as Kostyuk is mobbed by autograph hunters and one fan tells the Ukrainian how much she loves her dress. She’s got the style, she’s got the shots and on this form will take some stopping in the semi-finals … where she’ll face Noskova, who’s just served out a tight, straight-sets victory over Mertens.
Kostyuk is the second Ukrainian woman to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals after Elina Svitolina in 2019 and 2023, and it’s her second successive slam semi after last month’s French Open. “First time playing on this unbelievable court,” the 24-year-old says. “I watched on this court as a spectator once, nine years ago, watching Roger. To be back here as a player it’s a dream come true.”
Kostyuk defeats Paolini 6-3, 6-2!
So Paolini, with the bounce she’d rediscovered at this tournament after a testing 2026 nearly gone, is serving to stay in this quarter-final. 30-all almost inevitably turns into 30-40, a first match point … and Paolini’s serve out wide saves it as Kostyuk wafts the ball into the tramlines! But Paolini bashes a backhand into the net at deuce, and here’s a second match point. This time Kostyuk gets her return into play … and ends by threading a backhand down the line, which Paolini can barely get her racket to! Kostyuk sinks to her knees before celebrating victory with her now-customary pirouette. A near-flawless Centre Court debut from the 12th seed, who sportingly applauds a shellshocked Paolini off the court, having already hit her off it. It’s Kostyuk’s 21st win in 22 matches.
Paolini holds to reduce her arrears to 2-4. And is now pushing on Kostyuk’s serve at 0-30. But Paolini has her hands on her hips when Kostyuk cuts her up with a slice at 30-all. Kostyuk’s forehand, which has been near-perfect for one and a half sets, has slightly gone off the boil with the Ukrainian perhaps thinking about the finish line. She’s been known to unravel in the past, but she finds a way to stay calm at 40-30, with one of the calmest of all time, Stefan Edberg, watching in the stands as Kostyuk extends her lead to 6-3, 5-2.
Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool’s title defence in the men’s doubles is over. They’ve lost in straight sets to El Salvador’s Marcelo Arevalo and Croatia’s Mate Pavic in the quarter-finals. It means Henry Patten – a long-time favourite of this blog – is the only Brit left in the event, and he’ll play in the semi-finals tomorrow alongside Finland’s Harri Heliovaara, as they seek to regain the title they won two years ago.
The 5ft 4in Paolini may be one of the shortest players on tour but shows she has one of the biggest hearts, despite her predicament, as she hustles her way to deuce. But the net gods aren’t on her side when, at the end of a 20-shot rally, Kostyuk’s half-volley clips the tape and trickles over for a winner. Nothing is going Paolini’s way. Kostyuk then consolidates the break for 6-3, 4-1.
A word for Kostyuk’s outfit too, which is inspired by her 2023 wedding gown and sold out within a few hours of going on general sale, and is nearly as impressive as her tennis. Nearly. Because Kostyuk chases down the drop shot for 15-all on Paolini’s serve, advances further courtesy of a double fault and has a break point when Paolini prods into the net. Paolini’s forehand errs once more and Kostyuk is in complete control at 6-3, 3-1.
Paolini does, at least, get her side of the scoreboard moving in the second set, holding to 15. But the Italian just can’t get going on Kostyuk’s serve, and as the Ukrainian moves to 30-0, she’s won 15 of the past 16 points on her serve, the only blot in the book a double fault. She does concede a point at 40-0, as Paolini lets her frustrations out with a backhand winner, but Kostyuk remains in command and holds on the next point for 6-3, 2-1.
Kostyuk opens the second set with another emphatic hold, this time to love. This has been one of the most impressive performances in the women’s tournament so far; she’s in lockdown mode, so full of focus and intensity. And it’s remarkable to think this is her first time playing on Centre Court. Meanwhile on No 1, Mertens has had the trainer on for a left leg problem but is still ahead in the second set, 2-1 on serve, having lost the first 6-3.
Paolini is on course for her most comfortable hold since the opening game as she eases to 40-15 … before smacking a makeable forehand into the net. And Kostyuk makes her pay, coming back for deuce, and then thwacking her way to a first set point. Paolini tries to hit back behind Kostyuk, which is a smart tactic, but she can’t execute it, as her forehand flies long. In the Centre Court sauna, Kostyuk is the coolest woman in the house, as she wraps an ice towel around her neck, having seized the first set 6-3.
Kostyuk just won’t let up, and has points for a double break at 4-2, 15-40 on Paolini’s serve. But two errant backhands – one forced, one unforced – follow and Paolini battles to deuce, before holding when Kostyuk clunks a wild cross-court forehand wide. So it’s 4-3 – and soon 5-3 when Kostyuk charges through on serve once more.
Kostyuk is striding around the court so full of confidence, having enjoyed the finest summer of her career, amid the horrendous backdrop of the ongoing war in Ukraine and a Russian missile attack close to her family home in Kyiv at the start of the French Open. Having been prone to lose her composure during matches in the past, it’s as if she’s now fuelled by the knowledge that she represents something so much bigger than herself while simultaneously being able to put tennis into perspective; of course she wants to win, but she knows her country is going through something more significant. And Kostyuk backs up the break by holding to love for 4-2.
Kostyuk shows Paolini she’s not only a baseline basher as she zips to the net twice en route to another hold to 15. And now Kostyuk has deuce on Paolini’s serve for the second time … a first break point comes and goes … but here’s a second … and she absolutely rips a 96mph forehand return past a staggering Paolini! Kostyuk claims the first break and leads 3-2!
Noskova, on her fourth break point of the set, converts for 5-3, and the highest seed left in this half of the draw, after the exits of Swiatek, Rybakina, Anisimova and Svitolina, will serve for the opener. 15-0, 30-0, 40-0, game and set. Flawless stuff. I heard a few people tipping the 21-year-old for a run to the final before the tournament, and thought no, she’s not quite ready yet, but the Czech ninth seed is a set away from the semi-finals, leading Mertens 6-3.
Anything Paolini can do … Kostyuk opens with a hold to 15 of her own, finishing things off with an ace. And now the Ukrainian is pushing on Paolini’s serve, recovering from 40-0 to deuce, but she can’t make any further inroads and Paolini holds for 2-1, before striding back to her chair and the shade of an umbrella, on the hottest day of the championships so far. This has been a confident start from both; more of this, please.
Paolini bursts out of the blocks with as much speed as she shows when charging around the court, racing to 40-0 and taking the game to 15. This match pits two of the best athletes in the women’s game against each other, and while Kostyuk possesses more power than the counterpunching Paolini, it’s Paolini who has the greater experience at this stage of grand slams, having reached not only the Wimbledon final but also the French Open final two years ago. Which could be to her advantage, if this comes down to who handles the moment better.
Three more games, three more holds, but it’s been fairly tortuous on serve for Mertens, who has to save three break points to scramble to 2-2, just as Paolini and Kostyuk make their entrance on Centre. I’m really, really looking forward to this one … Paolini, after losing the opening set of her first-round match 6-0, has been a player transformed, finally rediscovering the form that took her to the 2024 final and made her a fan favourite, while Kostyuk, after reaching the French Open semi-finals last month, has carried her form from the clay on to the grass, and has won 20 of her past 21 matches.
On the doubles front, the defending men’s champions, Britain’s Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool, are just getting under way in their quarter-final. Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid, the top seeds, have already advanced to the last four in the wheelchair event, while there’s also been a quarter-final victory for Andy Lapthorne in the quad singles, but defeat for Gregory Slade.
The Yonex racket, the blond, wavy hair, the constant fist pumps and the Aussie “C’MONS” … but no, it’s not the 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt, instead his son Cruz, who’s over on court 12 in the boys’ singles and is leading the second seed, Germany’s Jamie Mackenzie, 6-3, 3-3. His dad is watching in the stands, having won alongside Fabio Fognini in the men’s invitational doubles earlier.
Mertens did claim her win over Rybakina on this court, and the Belgian starts here as she finished off then, moving to 15-30 on Noskova’s serve with the help of a double fault and then 30-40, having chosen to receive first. Noskova beats Mertens for pace on the break point, before crashing down a smash at deuce, but can’t close out the game either. So here’s a second deuce … and from there Noskova holds for 1-0. That was a game full of errors, and both players will hope it can only get better.
Noskova and Mertens are winding their way through the No 1 Court tunnel, and tardily arrive on court just past 1pm. They look a little nervous – or perhaps slightly shy – as they enter; for both this is a first Wimbledon quarter-final, though the 21-year-old Noskova did get this far at the 2024 Australian Open and the 30-year-old Mertens three times before at other slams, but not since 2020. They more than deserve this moment in the Wimbledon sun, though, Mertens having taken out the former champion Elena Rybakina in the third round, and Noskova having impressively beaten the Eastbourne winner Madison Keys in the last 16.
One of Fery’s former coaches at Stanford University, Paul Goldstein, who’s flown to London to watch the quarter-final, is being interviewed on the BBC. “Arthur’s an even better human being than tennis player. He has an exceptional emotional maturity beyond his years,” he says, bravely standing in the 30C+ sun by the practice courts. There again he’s from California, this British heatwave is probably nothing to him.
Today’s singles order of play
Centre Court (1.30pm BST)
Marta Kostyuk (Ukraine, 12) v Jasmine Paolini (Italy, 13)
Flavio Cobolli (Italy, 9) v Arthur Fery (GB)
No 1 Court (1pm)
Linda Noskova (Czech Republic, 9) v Elise Mertens (Belgium, 25)
Taylor Fritz (US, 6) v Alexander Zverev (Germany, 2)
Preamble
Hello and welcome to the Wimbledon quarter-finals – Part II!
When the 19-strong British contingent suffered a near-wipeout in the singles first round, the idea that Arthur Fery, one of the few survivors, would go on to reach the quarter-finals seemed utterly outlandish. The 23-year-old, who was born in France but grew up less than a mile from the All England Club, had won only one match at Wimbledon before this year, and only two grand slam matches in his whole career.
But his path opened up with the exits of Ben Shelton and Jakub Mensik, and now here the most local of local heroes is, only the sixth British man to reach the last eight in the open era, after four comeback wins from a set down, including against Grigor Dimitrov. And perhaps what’s been most remarkable is the calmness he’s shown throughout; he’s not been fazed by his overnight fame at all. He looks as if he believes he belongs – even when playing the man once tipped as the next Roger Federer, in front of a watching Federer.
Now Fery must face his toughest task to date, against the lightning quick Italian with the flashy forehand and charisma to match, Flavio Cobolli, who’s having the summer of his life after reaching the French Open final last month. Could Fery’s ridiculous run continue? Well, he has beaten Cobolli before, in the first round of this year’s Australian Open …
Fery and Cobolli are second on Centre Court, after Cobolli’s fellow Italian Jasmine Paolini, the runner-up of two years ago who’s thankfully rediscovered her fantastico smile and high-energy hustle, faces the increasingly impressive Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, who’s playing for something so much bigger than herself, after yet another Russian attack on her home city of Kyiv overnight.
No 1 Court opens with Linda Noskova, the latest in a long line of classy Czechs to thrive on the grass, against Elise Mertens, the 30-year-old Belgian and reigning women’s doubles champion, who reckons this could be her final chance to go deep in the singles.
And last but not least it’s the two most in-form players in the men’s game, Alexander Zverev v Taylor Fritz. Having finally shed his “best man never to win a slam” tag in Paris, Zverev must now erase another record, having head-scratchingly lost his past seven matches against Fritz.
Play begins at: 1pm BST on No 1, 1.30pm on Centre. Stay tuned!
