Fery reaches maiden ATP final as Duckworth retires, will face in-form Buse in Winston-Salem

Englishman Arthur Fery, the No. 4 seed, advanced to the final of the Winston-Salem Open when Australian James Duckworth retired with a leg injury on Friday night, with Fery leading 6-4, 1-2. Peruvian Ignacio Buse, the No. 3 seed, joined him in the final by beating Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi 6-2, 4-6, 6-1.

Fery, ranked No. 37, reached his first career ATP final by also beating American Aleksandar Kovacevic 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, Dutch qualifier Mees Rottgering 6-3, 6-3 and Australian wildcard Cruz Hewitt 6-1, 7-5.

This result takes Fery to world No. 33 and make him the new British No. 1 ahead of Cameron Norrie, who is projected to sit at No. 35.

Buse, ranked No. 36, had never won a tour-level match on hard courts before this week. He reached the final by beating No. 8 seed Juan Manuel Cerundolo of Argentina 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-2, No. 16 seed Daniel Altmaier of Germany 7-6 (5), 7-5 and Australian Adam Walton 6-2, 5-7, 6-3, before outlasting Bonzi in a deciding set in the semi-final.

It is his second ATP final of the season, after winning the title in Hamburg the week before Roland Garros – meaning he now arrives at another final the week before a Grand Slam. Buse would take him into the top 30 for the first time in his career.

Fery and Buse have met once before, with Fery winning in the qualifying round in Stockholm in 2025, 6-3, 6-1. Both arrive at Saturday’s final in markedly different form than that meeting suggested.