Arthur Fery reaches first ATP final at Winston-Salem Open
Arthur Fery’s breakout season found another gear in North Carolina, even if the ending on Friday night felt strangely subdued.
The 24-year-old Briton reached his first ATP Tour final at the Winston-Salem Open after James Duckworth retired injured, with Fery leading 6-4 2-1 in their semi-final.
Duckworth had called for a medical timeout after the opening set and, clearly hampered, pulled the plug early in the second. The contest that had promised a tight, baseline-heavy duel instead faded out with a handshake at the net and a ripple of applause.
Fery’s reaction said plenty. Relief, yes. Satisfaction, certainly. But also the slight awkwardness every player feels when a big career milestone arrives via a retirement rather than a match point.
“I am really happy to be in the final,” he said. “Not the way I wanted it to end at all. I hope James will get well soon and rest up for next week. But I am very happy to be through.”
The numbers behind the moment are stark. Fery becomes the first Briton ever to reach the final of this ATP 250 event. He is now up to a career-high ranking of 33 in the world and has overtaken Cameron Norrie as British number one. Only eight weeks ago, before his stunning run to the Wimbledon semi-finals, he was outside the top 100.
From outsider to standard-bearer in two months. The climb has been that steep.
In Winston-Salem, Fery had taken control of the semi-final with the same compact aggression that lit up the grass at SW19. He pocketed the first set 6-4, then broke early in the second to move 2-1 up. Duckworth, struggling physically after his earlier timeout, could not continue.
The reward is a shot at a maiden ATP title on Saturday against Ignacio Buse, who came through a more turbulent semi-final of his own.
The 22-year-old Peruvian defeated France’s Benjamin Bonzi 6-2 4-6 6-1, riding a dominant start, surviving a dip, then storming through the decider. Ranked 36 in the world, Buse already owns one trophy this season, having beaten Tommy Paul to win the ATP 500 event in Hamburg in May.
He knows how to close out a big week. So does Fery now.
Their meeting in North Carolina pairs two of the tour’s fastest risers, both inside the top 40, both playing with the freedom of men who have crashed through their previous ceilings in 2024. For Fery, the stakes stretch beyond one trophy.
This final arrives on the eve of the US Open, where he came agonisingly close to being seeded. Instead, the draw handed him Italian 13th seed Lorenzo Musetti in the opening round at Flushing Meadows.
That is the next test. Before that, there is a first ATP final to navigate, a first shot at silverware, and another chance for Britain’s new number one to prove that Wimbledon was not a one-off surge, but the start of something more permanent.
