Life imitating art: How Arthur Fery's Wimbledon glory mirrors the plot of the 2004 Paul Bettany movie where a British wildcard entry goes on to WIN

This week has seen the nation hit by a case of Wimbledon fever, as wildcard Arthur Fery has made an astonishing run all the way to the semi-finals.

And it now seems his rise to success could be a case of life imitating art, with his journey resembling that of the 2004 hit film, where a wildcard entry goes on to scoop the Wimbledon trophy. 

Having arrived at the tournament outside of the top 100 rankings, Arthur has stunned SW19 by becoming the sole British player to reach the second week, and on Wednesday he booked himself a spot in the semi-finals.

Arthur beat ninth seed Flavio Cobolli in straight sets, despite only gaining entry to the championships as a wildcard, and will now play second seed and recent French Open champion Alexander Zverev on Friday for a place in the final.

Wimbledon starred Paul Bettany as a once-renowned tennis star who has seen his position slip to 119th in the world.

In the film, Paul's character Peter Colt lands himself a wildcard entry for the Wimbledon Championships, and despite feeling he's past his prime, he fights his way to the title, and finds love along the way.

The film, which also starred Kirsten Dunst as an American tennis star who steals Peter's heart, was partially filmed during the 2003 tennis championships, the only time it has ever been allowed in the tournament's history.

Fery's Centre Court triumph was watched by his parents, who are divorced, and his shock run to the last four has guaranteed him at least £900,000 in prize money.

He has also reached the semi-finals despite a series of on-court nosebleeds. 'It is a problem I am going to address. It has happened before but it's not that common,' he said.

Fery reached the semi-finals of the boys' doubles at Wimbledon in 2019 – before making the third round of the main competition's mixed doubles, alongside Tara Moore, two years later.

He then went on to win a tennis scholarship for a science, technology and society degree at the prestigious Stanford University in California.

This year has taken him to new levels, however, initially with getting through to the second round of the Australian Open in January.

And he was granted a wildcard entry to this summer's Wimbledon, despite not qualifying through the official routes.

His performances since have made him only the fifth wildcard entry to reach as far as the quarter-finals.

The only wildcard entry to actually go on to win a Wimbledon title is Goran Ivanisevic, in 2001... for now.

Fery moved to Wimbledon at a young age and although he went to university in the USA, he was educated nearby and trains in London.

His subsequent run at the All England Club has led to some in the French media claiming the 23-year-old as their 'last remaining hope' given his dual nationality and family ties to France.

However, when pressed on which country he feels closer to after his quarter-final victory over Flavio Cobolli, Fery was clear in his response.

'In regards to the French, I mean honestly less and less these days,' he told reporters.

'I've now lived here a long time, 10 years ago I may have said I felt more French than English but now it's not the case at all.

'I feel very British, I live here, all my best friends live here, I went to school here, I train here.

'My parents are still French so we speak French with my family and cousins who still live in France. But no, my roots are very much tied to London now.'

Fery's fourth round victory came in five sets against former world No 3 Grigor Dimitrov, amid baking heat, on Centre Court on Monday.

His second consecutive fightback makes him the first British wild card to reach the quarter-finals at a grand slam in the open era.

The Wimbledon local was twice a break down in the fourth but roused himself with the unrelenting support of the Centre Court crowd with chants of 'Let's go, Arthur' echoing across the packed stands.

Speaking of his comeback afterwards, he said: 'I was really close to losing my last round as well, again today a break down in the fourth.

'I was just trying to keep fighting, having a good attitude, committing to what I'm trying to do - playing really well with my back against the wall, paid off.'

Another interested spectator sat in the front row of the Royal Box, with Fery aware of the gaze of eight-time champion Roger Federer.

The British player said: 'When I switched the TV on in the changing rooms for the first match, I saw Roger was in the Royal Box.

'I didn't know he was coming. I sent a message to my team saying, "Yeah, look, Roger's in the box, I'm pretty tight".

'It's incredible to be in that position where one of the greatest of all time is watching you, let alone watching me play a five-set match against Dimitrov on Centre Court at Wimbledon.'