Arthur Fery’s unforgettable Wimbledon run is over after Alexander Zverev denied the British wildcard a place in the final and ended his hopes of a fairytale finish.
Fery, who arrived at SW19 as the world number 114 and had never been beyond the second round of a Grand Slam, defied all expectations to reach the semi-finals.
But an encounter against second seed Zverev proved one step too far and the French Open champion was a class above in a 7-6 (7-0) 6-2 6-4 win.
As the German shared a warm embrace with Fery at the net, the Centre Court crowd rose as one and applauded the player who wrote one of the best British Wimbledon stories of the past few years.
Fery can leave with his head held high.
After a dismal start that saw 15 of his compatriots fall in the first round, he has carried British singles hopes further than anyone imagined, and dazzled the home crowd with his fighting spirit.
Fery, who turns 24 in two days time, will be confirmed as the new British number one and will rise to 36th in the world rankings on Monday, as well as taking home £900,000 in prize money.
Zverev, meanwhile, is into his first Wimbledon final, where he will face either defending champion Jannik Sinner or seven-time winner Novak Djokovic on Sunday.
The 29-year-old will hope to add a second Grand Slam singles trophy to his collection after ending his long wait for a maiden major at last month’s French Open.