Alexander Zverev dished out a masterclass against Taylor Fritz in his maiden Wimbledon quarterfinal, a performance that seemed to put the German player in a good mood. The second seed will now have to face British wildcard Arthur Fery in the semifinal, which means that the German now has the home crowd at SW19 to contend with as well. And that’s a challenge he is welcoming with open arms.

“It’s okay. You guys can all be for Fery, I understand it, I don’t have a problem with it,” Zverev was at his cheeky best during the on-court interview. “I hope good for me and not so good for everyone else. I think it’s going to be an exciting day for both of us… for him, it’s a fairytale story, for Arthur Fery… you see what I did there, very clever. I think I have to trust myself. I have to trust my tennis. Hopefully, I can just show a good performance, and we’ll see what happens.”

As Zverev approached victory, the crowd on Court 1 broke into huge applause as news had already broken from the Center Court that the British wildcard, Arthur Fery, was still in action at SW19, following his straight-set win over ninth-seeded Flavio Cobolli. While the Brit thrilled the home crowd with his efficient performance, Zverev was not far behind, producing one of the most efficient wins of his career.

Zverev was on it from the jump, as he saved break points in his very first service game, following which he got a service break to go 2-1 up in the first set. That one break of serve proved enough for the German to get the opportunity to serve it out at 5-4. Even though Fritz had break points to tie at 5-5, Zverev had the nerve to serve it out. The German ramped up his serving in his second set, not facing a single break point as he broke his opponent in the tenth game to take a 5-4 lead. Once again, he was clinical, closing the set out at 6-4.

One can understand if Zverev felt he was still not out of the woods, as the last time both players were at Wimbledon, Fritz came from two sets to love down to snatch victory. But if anyone expected a Fritz comeback, the second seed quickly snuffed out the chances, breaking twice to go 5-1 up. Stepping on the line to serve for the match at 5-2, Zverev did not blink an eye, as his serve proved to be the difference again, finishing the match in straight sets.

What stood out for Zverev was his forehand, which has been a flaw for him, especially in his recent struggles against Fritz. However, in this match, he took care of his forehand by not going into his usual defensive shell, but rather going for the lines with ferocious precision. He even used the slice shot, which completely disrupted the Americans’ game, whose own serving and backhand broke down as the match went on. For a player who’s known to have a big serve, Zverev finally brought it into play on the surface that gave him the most purchase out of the shot.

Fery has taken to Center Court like a duck to water, having won successive matches against Dimitrov and Cobolli. But Zverev’s confidence seems to be on a different level, making him a tough contender against the hometown hero at Wimbledon.