Arthur Fery’s unforgettable Wimbledon ended as Alexander Zverev denied him a place in the final – but the British wildcard is still glad he opted out of a holiday in Greece to experience a fairytale fortnight at SW19.

Fery, who arrived at the Championships 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.

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.

After a dismal start that resulted in 15 of his compatriots falling in the first round, Fery 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.

It could so easily have been a very different tale.

“I was meant to be going to Greece with some friends. We’ll see if that’s still in the cards,” Fery said in his post-match news conference.

“One of my friends went ahead of time, hoping I would lose so I could join him. He came back two days later and was supporting me.

“I’m glad that I kept going, kept going in this tournament.”

Fery has lived out his dreams over the past 12 days on the Wimbledon grounds that are just a short walk from where he grew up.

He battled back from a set down in his first three matches and stunned former world number three Grigor Dimitrov in a marathon five-set win on his Centre Court debut.

But it was not until he dismantled French Open runner-up Flavio Cobolli, the ninth seed, in the quarter-finals that people really started to take notice.

The French-born Briton has endeared himself to fans – on Centre Court, Henman Hill and further afield – with his never-give-up attitude and intense self-belief.

“It would have been easy to just, for example, let Zizou Bergs [in the third round] run away with his two breaks in the fourth [set] and, as you say, go on holiday and come back,” Fery said.

“I just kept fighting, came back to the match court every time and gave my best. I was mentally locked in.”

Fery accepted he lacked that energy in his semi-final against Zverev, who will soon become the new world number two, going above Carlos Alcaraz.

On a day when he needed his very best tennis and focus, Fery came up just a little short.

“I lacked a bit of that today. It might have been just a step too far. The opponent was a step up again,” Fery said.

The Briton went toe to toe with Zverev in the opening set, but when the tie-break arrived it was the 6ft 6in German who raised the intensity, whizzing through seven points without reply.

Having found his level, Zverev remained on top for the rest of the contest, overpowering Fery and dropping just five points on his serve in the final two sets.

Having never cracked the top 100 before this tournament, Fery will suddenly find himself inside the top 40 and assured of direct entry into the biggest tournaments for the foreseeable future.

The Wimbledon prize money will help to further develop his career – especially considering it is £240,000 more than his previous career earnings.

“It’s going to change things, for sure,” Fery said.

“It’s going to be interesting to see, important to see how I deal with that change and everything that that brings in terms of expectations from myself, from the public, from everyone.”

Zverev, meanwhile, is into his first Wimbledon final, where he will face defending champion Jannik Sinner on Sunday.

The 29-year-old will hope to add a second Grand Slam singles trophy after ending his long wait for a maiden major at the French Open last month.

“This Grand Slam has always been the one that I have struggled with most, and all of a sudden I am in the final so I am incredibly happy,” said Zverev, who had never previously gone beyond the fourth round at Wimbledon.

Life has changed for Fery, perhaps forever, and certainly for the foreseeable future.

But, before heading to the pre-US Open hard-court swing, he needs to recharge his batteries after a grass-court season beyond his wildest dreams.

Fery looked shattered – emotionally as much as physically – when he spoke to the media little over an hour after losing to Zverev.

He has signed up to the Canadian Open in three weeks’ time but has indicated he may not take part. Instead, he could push back his debut at ATP Masters level – the tier of tournaments below the Grand Slams – until the Cincinnati Open, which starts on 13 August.

Then there will probably be a trip to Winston-Salem before going straight into the US Open main draw – where he could even be seeded given he has no ranking points to defend at tournaments leading in.

Fery has proved to himself that he can compete at the highest level, but he will now be a marked man.

Opponents will quickly figure out where he might be vulnerable, while the freedom with which he played at Wimbledon can disappear when the stakes are higher on the weekly grind of the tour.

Fery, though, is a confident young man and says he is already relishing the challenge of stepping up another level.