Arthur Fery Reaches First ATP Final at Winston-Salem After Duckworth Retires Injured
Britain's Arthur Fery reached his first ATP Tour final at the Winston-Salem Open on Friday, advancing when opponent James Duckworth retired with a right leg injury in their semifinal (BBC Sport).
Fery, 24, was leading 6-4 2-1 when the Australian called a medical timeout after the first set and was unable to continue. The match, played on August 28 in North Carolina, ended with a 6-4 1-2 (retired) scoreline on the tournament's official results page (Winston-Salem Open).
The 24-year-old is the first Briton to reach the final of the Winston-Salem Open, an ATP 250 event — the lower tier of the main men's tour, but still a significant title on the calendar (BBC Sport).
Fery will face Peru's Ignacio Buse, the third seed, who beat France's Benjamin Bonzi 6-2 4-6 6-1 in the other semifinal (BBC Sport). Buse, 22, is ranked 36th in the world and is chasing his second title of the season, having stunned American Tommy Paul to win the ATP 500 event in Hamburg in May. Fery, the fourth seed this week, sits at a career-high 33rd in the rankings (ATP Tour).
Eight weeks ago, none of this seemed remotely on the cards. Fery was ranked outside the top 100 before a surprise run to the Wimbledon semifinals in July catapulted him up the standings. He has since overtaken Cameron Norrie to become British number one (BBC Sport).
For Fery, the Winston-Salem final is a chance to gather momentum before the US Open, the year's final Grand Slam, which begins next week. He narrowly missed out on a seeded spot at Flushing Meadows — the top 32 players are protected from meeting each other in the early rounds — and has been drawn against Italy's Lorenzo Musetti, the 13th seed, in the first round (BBC Sport).
What makes Fery's rise stand out is the speed of it. From outside the top 100 to a first ATP final in under two months, with a Grand Slam semifinal wedged in between. The Winston-Salem final against Buse will be the first time the two have met across the net as professionals — a 24-year-old who was nowhere near this stage in June, against a 22-year-old already hunting his second trophy of the year.
For British tennis, it is another marker of depth beyond the familiar names. For Fery himself, the final is a chance to turn a remarkable summer into something tangible — a title, a trophy, and a ranking that keeps climbing.
