Second seed Alexander Zverev goes up against little-known wild card Arthur Fery in the Wimbledon semifinals with the German is expected to end the Briton's sensational run in London.
Local hero Fery had previously never advanced to the semis of any ATP tournament in his entire career before his stunning achievements this summer.
For Zverev, of course, it’s a much different story. He is the No. 3 player in the world and just captured his first major title at the French Open last month.
Arthur Fery vs. Alexander Zverev betting picks and predictions
Alexander Zverev -2.5 sets (+105)
Zverev was the best player in the world – by far – to have never won a Grand Slam before he finally triumphed at Roland Garros.
With such a weight off his shoulders, the 29-year is playing even better tennis at Wimbledon.
He has won three of his last four matches in straight sets, with only Jiri Lehecka managing to take one in the fourth round.
Zverev had lost to Taylor Fritz on seven consecutive occasions before trouncing the American 6-4 6-4 6-2 on Wednesday.
What is particularly concerning for Fery is that Zverev is serving the best he has at any point in his career.
The second seed is putting in an impressive 74 per cent of his first deliveries during the tournament and has been broken a mere four times - that’s good for a 96 per cent hold rate.
As well as Fery can return, he is never going to have the advantage over Zverev’s serve – at least not when his opponent is serving at such a high percentage.
Unless Zverev’s level drops dramatically from where it has been dating back to the start of the French Open, this should be one-way traffic.
Under 36.5 games (-125)
Fery did very well to beat Flavio Cobolli in straight sets on Wednesday, but a Grand Slam semifinal against the No. 3 player in the world is much different from a slam quarterfinal against a much less experienced 10th-ranked opponent.
A three-set match is almost certain to stay under this number and even a four-setter would have some chance of doing the same.
After all, Fery played a 6-0 set against Flavio Cobolli on Wednesday and both of the sets he lost to Zizou Bergs in round three were by 6-2 margins.
His first-round match against Damir Dzumhur lasted a total of 32 games in four sets.
Zverev has played three sets with either 6-1 or 6-2 scorelines in his last four matches.
Over 18.5 total aces (-120)
Zverev has struck 78 aces through five rounds at the All-England Club, averaging 0.88 per service game.
Based on that number, he could get close to this 18.5 number all by himself even if the match – as predicted – is a short one.
But don’t sleep on Fery; the underdog could also contribute to the total. The 23-year-old is averaging more than six aces per match at Wimbledon.
It should also be noted that neither player does a particularly good job of getting a racket on opponents’ serves.
Over the last 52 weeks, Zverev has been getting aced on eight per cent of his return points. That’s right around the average of top-50 players and he has been aced 31 times in his last two matches.
Fery stands at only 5’9’’ so it is tough for him to return well-placed serves and has seen 55 serves whizz past him in the first four rounds.
Arthur Fery vs. Alexander Zverev odds
Alexander Zverev | -800 |
Arthur Fery | +500 |
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
