Player performances during this Wimbledon fortnight have been as extreme as the weather, on both WTA and ATP sides of the draw, ranging from unhinged to unassailable.While Kipling’s famous line from his oft-quoted poem, etched above the Centre Court players’ entrance — “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and Treat those two Imposters just the same” — has significance for every match, every year, it is the unwritten line that resonates in 2026. “If you can keep your head, when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you”: Having made excuses for world No 2 Elena Rybakina’s abysmal exit at Queens Club, her premature collapse once again, against lower-ranked Belgian Elise Mertens was, by the Kazakh’s own admission, inexplicable.Discussing with an Australian journalist — while availing ourselves of turbo-charged air-conditioning in one of Wimbledon’s commenting areas — how Rybakina had not once during this match conferred with coach Stefano Vukov (in fact, she ignored him completely), he retorted: “Well, you do know they are supposed to be dating?” I did not. So whether this might explain her current downward spiral, who knows?Certainly relationships between players and their respective boxes can cause havoc. World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka fared no better in these championships with her wedding pending and already a recent string of defeats to her name. Having been beaten by former No 1 Naomi Osaka in straight sets and booed for her petulant on-court behaviour, she declared all she wanted was “to go out and to get blind drunk” — a sure sign of misery.What makes Fery’s feat in reaching the semis so impressive is that he is a qualifier — only the fifth in the open era to do soHowever, among a host of pathetic tennis displays — as identified by former British Davis Cup captain David Lloyd, namely by Bulgarian No 1 Grigor Dimitrov and ninth seed Flavio Cobolli — there has been one uplifting exception: Arthur Fery, the stoic Englishman, who has kept his head while Dimitrov and Cobolli lost theirs against him.What makes Fery’s feat in reaching the semis so impressive is that he is a qualifier — only the fifth in the open era to do so. “King Arthur”, as he has been dubbed, is the last Brit standing, after a British whitewash at the beginning of the Championships.The nation’s collective ecstasy over England reaching the last eight at the World Cup has no doubt buoyed Fery on to greater heights himself.Certainly he has been moved from the “outer fringes” of court 18 to first court No 1 and then Centre Court in record time, with both the “king” of the court Roger Federer and real Queen Camilla presiding over his latest victory from the Royal Box. It was with an Alcarazesque smile on his face that Fery announced he had grown up around the corner in SW19 and spent many years watching Federer in full swing. His service action and brand of tennis is testament to that and he is fearless about charging in to net, which he does at the drop of a hat.The other man who spent years aspiring to play like Federer — and nearly toppled then world No 2 Jannik Sinner in swashbuckling form last year, before succumbing to an abdominal tear — is Dimitrov. He instead appeared intimidated by the presence of the very man whose one-handed backhand he has perfected and after whom he’s been colloquially named “Baby Federer” — and unlike Fery, his game completely buckled under pressure.Another “king” epitomising Kipling’s definition of a true man — “If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew to serve your turn, long after they are gone and so hold on, when there is nothing left ... except the will” — is Novak Djokovic, who managed to hold off Felix Auger-Aliassime in the record longest — more than five hours — quarterfinal at the Championships.The Serbian was not best pleased by the roof being closed halfway through proceedings — to facilitate light, rather than rain — given Auger-Aliassime is considered one of the best indoor players in the game. Nevertheless, Djokovic prevailed by a hair’s breadth in the fifth tiebreak, despite what he perceived as an advantage to his Canadian opponent.With American No 1 Taylor Fritz eliminated in straight sets by French Open champion Alexander Zverev and Sinner demolishing German No 74 Jan-Lennard Struff, the world No 1 and 3 will have a definite edge over Fery and Djokovic in the semis in that the former have been on court for considerably longer. Sinner will also be seeking revenge for his humiliating Australian semis loss to Djokovic, contrary to the Kipling genre. Thus the odds of Djokovic securing that elusive 25th singles Major title are as low as England’s chances of winning the World Cup.