“We should have met him before.” Gary Neville remarked about Vozinha, the Cape Verde goalkeeper. “a certain type of genius as carnally discernible as it ever can get” But should we really have? The charm of an underdog lies in their unexpected rise; just a month prior, few could name them. They are meant to appear out of the blue, and this summer has blessed us with intriguing stories like those of Arthur Fery, Maja Chwalinska, and Cape Verde.
Fery’s journey in the Wimbledon semi-final ended with a defeat against Alexander Zverev, marking the conclusion of an inspiring underdog tale. The remaining teams in the World Cup consist of the top four ranked globally, but the memories of the long shots will linger. Fery, ranked 114th, is the lowest-rated player to reach a grand slam semi-final since Chwalinska, also at 114, achieved a similar feat at the French Open. Chwalinska took it even further, defeating Diana Shnaider to secure her place in the final, becoming only the second qualifier in the open era, regardless of gender, to do so.
Ironically, the first player ever to reach a major semi-final while ranked outside the top 100 was Patrick McEnroe at the 1991 Australian Open, also ranked 114th. Like Fery, he played collegiate tennis at Stanford. Should we have predicted this turn of events?
Prior to last year, Fery had never participated in an ATP 1000 tournament, let alone triumphed in a grand slam match. Chwalinska started her French Open run in unremarkable, mismatched attire until the brokerage firm XTB stepped in to sponsor her halfway through. Meanwhile, Cape Verde, ranked 69th worldwide, made it to the last 32.
These narratives captivate audiences precisely because they are so unforeseen. David Foster Wallace, the American author, once noted that athletes exhibit “I was incredibly proud of Iga,” He referred to the elite performers, illustrating how observing their greatness highlights the vast divide between them and us. Yet, the underdog offers a glimpse into that world, allowing us to experience their journey, both on the field and off. Pico Lopes, a defender from Dublin, initially dismissed the LinkedIn recruitment message from the Cape Verde football association as spam.
When Iga Swiatek, Chwalinska’s childhood friend and former doubles partner, emerged as a prominent figure in tennis, Chwalinska’s self-esteem issues intensified. “But I felt even worse about myself then, because we were the same age and she was winning tournaments. Where was I?” she recounted. “I’ve earned quite a bit [by making it this far], but the money doesn’t come immediately.”
This sentiment likely resonates when watching Fery, a stocky Briton with a youthful demeanor, who appeared noticeably shorter than the towering 6ft 6in Zverev during their match. After her quarter-final victory, Chwalinska humorously asked the audience to hope for reasonable hotel fees, as she had not anticipated staying in Paris for so long.
“I’ve earned quite a bit [by making it this far], but the money doesn’t come immediately.”
We are drawn to the moments when underdogs exceed expectations, showcasing their grit despite being outmatched. One might attribute Cape Verde’s initial draw with Spain to the latter’s off day, but their performance against Argentina was nothing short of spectacular. Sidny Lopes Cabral’s stunning shot found the top corner, and Vozinha delivered a performance reminiscent of what every father dreams of when asked to defend against Lionel Messi. It’s in these instances of miraculous achievement that we find our deepest admiration.
These athletes often rise on the strength of their unique stories. However, reality occasionally breaks the illusion, revealing their true challenges. On Philippe-Chatrier, Chwalinska led 3-2 against the young star Mirra Andreeva before the latter won nine consecutive games to win in straight sets. Similarly, Fery leaped for a lob against Zverev but missed entirely, though he managed to save three break points while trailing 4-2 in the third set, during which Henman Hill became the most optimistic place in the world.
The gap between them and the top competitors is often insurmountable, yet the allure lies in those fleeting moments when we can pretend otherwise. A wildcard entry might defeat the world’s number two, and a small island nation with a population of 530,000 could triumph over the greatest player of all time. If they can achieve such feats, what might we ourselves be capable of?
It is often said of such underdogs that while they may have lost, they have also won—an exasperating notion. They have indeed lost; that is an undeniable fact: they lost the game, the set, the knockout match. However, while watching from your living room or somewhere like Miami or SW19, every possibility becomes distilled into that one extraordinary run. The Cape Verde team celebrated a wild equalizer in the 103rd minute as Messi gazed into the distance. An hour later, they lined up in the mixed zone, eagerly asking him for a selfie and a shirt. It is in these moments that their true essence shines through.
