British wildcard Arthur Fery will play for a place in the Wimbledon final after extending his sensational run with a remarkable victory over world number 10 Flavio Cobolli in front of an ecstatic Centre Court crowd.

Before this week, world number 114 Fery had never gone beyond the second round at one of the sport’s major tournaments.

But on a scorching afternoon, Fery dismantled French Open runner-up and ninth seed Cobolli 6-4 7-6 (7-4) 6-0.

The 23-year-old dropped to the ground as the crowd chanted his name after becoming the first men’s wildcard to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals for 25 years.

Goran Ivanisevic is the only other wildcard to have reached this stage at Wimbledon – and he went on to win the title.

“I felt emotions that I’ve never experienced before in my life in that last game, and I’m sure it is the same up there [in my coaching box],” Fery said.

“I don’t know what I’ll do over the next couple of days, I’ve never been in this position before! I guess we will figure it all out as we go.

“I’m just going to keep going. I’ve been doing a great job for the past 10 days, so I’m just going to do the same thing and see where that takes me.”

While Fery’s victory over former world number three Grigor Dimitrov on his Centre Court debut two days ago had left him shaking his head in disbelief, this time around he lapped up the adulation of his adoring audience

It was an inspired display by Fery against Italy’s Cobolli, defined by an unshakeable composure belying his experience at this level.

Once the dust has settled on one of the greatest days of his career as close to 15,000 home supporters roared him on throughout, Fery will prepare to face French Open champion Alexander Zverev in Friday’s semi-finals.

Fery was ranked outside the world’s top 500 just 18 months ago after struggling with a bone stress injury in his arm, and did not enter the top 200 until October.

But, whatever happens in the next four days, he will leave Wimbledon as the new British number one.

Only the fifth British player in the Open era to reach the men’s singles semi-finals at Wimbledon, Fery is now guaranteed to rise to 36th in the world – just four places short of a seeded position in the US Open draw.

This masterclass against Cobolli, one of the most promising talents in the men’s game, also secured him prize money of £900,000 – more than doubling his career winnings to date of about £650,000.

As well as following in Ivanisevic’s footsteps in reaching the semi-finals, Fery is also the lowest-ranked player to make the last four at the All England Club since the Croat in 2001.

But, despite the statistics, and claiming to have felt nervous before walking out for his quarter-final, Fery continues to take all in his stride on Wimbledon’s biggest stage – just a short walk from where he grew up.

The outcome was unthinkable before the players, separated by more than 100 places in the rankings, walked out.

But, in terms of sets played, this was Fery’s most straightforward success on his unforgettable journey to the last four.

The Briton came through back-to-back marathon five-setters in match tie-breaks to reach this stage, having battled back from a set down to prevail in his opening two matches.

Fery had demonstrated remarkable character and resilience against former world number three Dimitrov, twice recovering from a break down in a must-win fourth set before winning in just under four hours.

This was a different challenge entirely. While Fery could take confidence from a previous win over Cobolli at this year’s Australian Open, his opponent had struggled physically with stomach issues on that occasion.

But Fery proceeded to punish Cobolli’s inconsistency in their latest meeting by claiming both of his break-point opportunities in the first two sets, before racing to the finish line on the back of a superb tie-break.

Cobolli, who allowed the boisterous crowd to affect him in key moments, produced 41 unforced errors as his challenge quickly unravelled – and Fery was always there to capitalise.

The home favourite, who had his audience engaged from the start with his intent, hit 27 winners and remained solid from the back of the court, registering just 15 unforced errors.

Fery moved to Wimbledon when he was young, with his visits to watch the sport’s biggest stars at the iconic venue fostering his drive to one day make it as a professional.

Now he is living out his dreams as his fairytale story continues to gather momentum.

Tennis is in his blood – his mother, Olivia, was a professional tennis player – and he showed promise on grass earlier this season by reaching the quarter-finals at Queen’s.

But this is all unchartered territory for Fery, who delayed his transition to the ATP Tour to pursue a degree in science, technology and society at Stanford University.

His progress on the tour was slowed by injuries – including the bone bruising on his arm which hampered him for 18 months and left him experiencing “doubts and dark moments”.

But, able to play more consistently since overcoming that issue he reached the second round at Wimbledon last year and at January’s Australian Open.

Nothing could have prepared him for what has unfolded at his home Grand Slam this time around – but he will once again be backed passionately as he eyes another giant-killing against second seed, and German world number three, Zverev.