Arthur Fery reached the final of the Winston-Salem Open on Friday after his opponent, James Duckworth, retired due to injury while trailing 6-4, 1-2. This victory follows Fery's recent wins over Cruz Hewitt and Mees Rottgering, as well as a three-set match against Aleksandar Kovacevic in the quarterfinals.
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"I'm really happy to be in the final," Fery said. "Obviously, not the way I wanted it to end at all. I hope James is going to rest up and get ready for next week but very happy to be through. I played well in the first set. He was serving very well and tricky but managed to get the break.
"He was hindered at the start of the second set and I saw it. It's never easy playing someone who you know is physically challenged, but overall it felt good apart from that last forehand."
Fery's recent success follows a notable run to the Wimbledon semi-finals earlier this summer, and he is expected to achieve a new career-high ranking on Monday. Just eight weeks ago, he was ranked outside the top 100.
In the final, Fery will face Peru's Ignacio Buse, who defeated Benjamin Bonzi 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 to reach his second ATP Tour final. Fery acknowledged Buse's strong performance, stating, "It's going to be another tough match. Ignacio is playing really well. He's a young guy who is breaking out, so it's going to be a great match."
Buse, the highest seed remaining in North Carolina, won his first tour-level title at the ATP 500 in Hamburg in May and is now ranked No. 36 in the world. He is also preparing for the US Open, where he is slated to face Marcos Giron in the first round. Fery, making his main draw debut at the US Open starting Sunday, will play against Italy's world No. 14, Lorenzo Musetti.