Arthur Fery Reaches First ATP Final at Winston-Salem Open

British tennis player Arthur Fery is continuing his impressive summer by securing a spot in his inaugural ATP final at the Winston-Salem Open.

Fery navigated the ATP 250 event with decisive victories over Cruz Hewitt and qualifier Mees Rottgering, followed by a hard-fought three-set win against Aleksandar Kovacevic in the quarterfinals.

The 24-year-old advanced to the championship match when his opponent, Australian James Duckworth, a player Fery had recently defeated in Cincinnati, retired due to injury with Fery leading 6-4, 1-2.

"I'm really happy to be in the final," stated Fery. "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 and from then on I thought I was playing good."

"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."

Following his remarkable semi-final run at Wimbledon earlier this summer, Fery is poised for a new career-high ranking on Monday. Just eight weeks ago, Fery was ranked outside the top 100.

Fery is set to face Peruvian Ignacio Buse in the final on Saturday. Buse, currently ranked world No. 36, reached his second ATP Tour final by defeating Benjamin Bonzi with a score of 6-2, 4-6, 6-1.

"It's going to be another tough match," admitted Fery. "Ignacio is playing really well. He's a young guy who is breaking out so it's going to be a great match. Definitely a good week for both of us and I'm going to sit down with my coach and see what I can do to beat him."

Buse, the highest remaining seed in North Carolina and 22 years old, achieved a career highlight in May by winning his first tour-level trophy at the ATP 500 in Hamburg. A year ago, Buse was ranked No. 135, but he will now be seeded at the US Open, where he is scheduled to play American Marcos Giron in the first round.

Fery, who is about to make his main draw debut at the US Open starting on Sunday, faces a challenging opening-round match against Italy's world No. 14 Lorenzo Musetti.