Arthur Fery's unforgettable Wimbledon run is over after Alexander Zverev denied the British wildcard a place in the final and ended his hopes of a fairytale finish.
Fery, who arrived at SW19 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.
But 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 saw 15 of his compatriots fall in the first round, he 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.
Zverev, meanwhile, is into his first Wimbledon final, where he will face either defending champion Jannik Sinner or seven-time winner Novak Djokovic on Sunday.
The 29-year-old will hope to add a second Grand Slam singles trophy to his collection after ending his long wait for a maiden major at last month's French Open.
'The whole match was the tie-break' - how rollercoaster semi-final unfolded
After arguing with the umpire over a problem with the technology for let calls, a fired-up Fery got the first set back on level terms - helped by a sublime angled drop shot that had the crowd leaping to their feet.
The pair continued to go toe-to-toe, but when the tie-break arrived it was Zverev who raised the intensity, whizzing through seven points without reply to take the opener.
Having found his level, the 6ft 6in German remained on top, and the gulf became clear as he overpowered Fery to win five games on the bounce before wrapping up the second set.
While Fery had fought back his first three matches at the All England Club, there were no signs of a comeback on Friday - despite the crowd's best efforts to rally their home hope.
Unable to cope with the pace coming from Zverev's racquet, Fery - who had remained calm when he found himself behind in his previous matches - became frustrated and gestured angrily towards his team as Zverev rode through 15 points unchallenged.
The Briton fended off three break points at 4-3, but it only delayed the inevitable and Zverev lofted a ball into the sky as he secured the victory.
The 29-year-old will rise to world number two when the rankings are updated on Monday, replacing the injured Carlos Alcaraz.
