Arthur Fery made history at Wimbledon by becoming only the second wildcard to reach the men’s semi-finals
BBC Wimbledon audiences expressed their frustration shortly after Arthur Fery‘s landmark quarter-final triumph.
The 23-year-old extended his remarkable journey at this year’s tournament, progressing to the semi-finals after an impressive straight-sets defeat of Flavio Cobolli on Centre Court.
Fery, who entered the competition ranked 114th globally, became just the second wildcard to reach the men’s semi-final at Wimbledon since Goran Ivanisevic’s victory in 2001.
Following his triumph, Fery said on court: “It seems to get better and better every match. No, I just can’t believe it. It’s incredible playing on Centre Court for the second time, second win, I can’t believe it.
“I played Flavio earlier this year in Australia and I beat him. That was a boost of confidence and I knew that I could do it, even though it’s my first time in the quarter-finals. He’s done it before in a Grand Slam, but that gave me a little boost of confidence. I just kept going. I was very nervous beforehand, but I kept going until the finish line,” reports the Express.
The British player continued: “I’m definitely not [calm] on the inside! That last game, I felt emotions that I hadn’t experienced before in my life. I think it’s the same up there. It’s unbelievable to share it with those guys [gestures to his team]. It’s a great bunch of guys. I’m so happy.”
However, a number of BBC viewers expressed their displeasure shortly after Fery’s victory. Several tennis fans had been eagerly anticipating the match highlights, having missed the live coverage due to work commitments.
But they were left waiting until 11.05pm for Today at Wimbledon to air on BBC Two, despite live tennis having concluded at 7pm.
“Why are Wimbledon tennis highlights on after 11pm tonight on BBC2? We have a British wildcard through to the semifinals and some of us have been at work all day!” one disgruntled viewer posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Another commented: “Really narked me off, came in hoping to watch it & nothing,” while a third remarked: “Yes, there was nothing on after 8pm about Wimbledon. Strange.”
A further viewer wrote: “The Today at Wimbledon show has been reduced to a nothing show. It’s now nothing more than a reel of highlights with a voice but zero analysis.”
A fifth fan echoed this frustration, stating: “As well as [the] fact it’s on 11pm, No iplayer where we live, the Highlights show is awful compared to the old show. Old show had great interviews with players, commentary from hosts, this version is Boring in comparison. Keep chopping & changing too fast within match highlights.”
Adding to the discontent, some viewers were annoyed that Fery’s match wasn’t broadcast first on the programme, with both women’s quarter-finals being shown ahead of it instead.
“Has the BBC lost all sense of news and editorial values. Watching the Wimbledon highlights on catch-up and the Fery match is third on the roster. He’s British and he’s in the semi-finals FFS,” a frustrated viewer wrote.
The men’s semi-finals are scheduled for Friday (July 10). Fery is set to face number two seed Alexander Zverev, while top seed Jannik Sinner prepares for another encounter with 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.
Wimbledon coverage is broadcast on BBC One and BBC Two, and can be streamed via BBC iPlayer
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