Arthur Fery’s breakthrough run ended in disappointment as he lost to Ignacio Buse in the final of the Winston-Salem Open, missing out on his first ATP Tour title in straight sets.
Fery, who became one of the stories of Wimbledon after reaching the semi-finals at his home Grand Slam in July, was beaten 6-3 6-2 by Peru’s Buse.
The 24-year-old became the first British player to reach the final of the ATP 250 tournament in North Carolina. His performance will lift him to 33rd in the world rankings, making him British number one ahead of Cameron Norrie. Just eight weeks ago, before his remarkable run at the All England Club, Fery was ranked outside the world’s top 100.
“Congratulations to you and your team, Ignacio, for your second title this year,” Fery said. “I want to thank my team as well. It couldn’t be us today but thank you for everything you do for me. We have had a great year and hopefully we can finish strong.”
Buse takes control in Winston-Salem final
There was little to separate Fery and Buse during the opening stages of Saturday’s final. Buse then seized the initiative by breaking serve to love to move 5-3 ahead, before serving out the first set.
The Peruvian quickly established a double-break advantage in the second set. Fery recovered one of those breaks, but Buse responded by winning three consecutive games to complete the victory.
For the 22-year-old Buse, the win makes him the youngest champion in Winston-Salem tournament history. It is also the second ATP title of his career, following his victory over American Tommy Paul at the ATP 500 event in Hamburg in May.
“It is very special for me,” Buse said. “With all my team, we have been working very, very hard. “Some things are very tough that we go through as tennis players, but I also want to congratulate Arthur and his team.”
Fery faces Musetti in US Open debut
Fery will have little time to reflect on his run in Winston-Salem before travelling to New York for the US Open, which begins on Sunday.
He will make his first appearance in the main draw at Flushing Meadows against a difficult opponent in Italian 13th seed Lorenzo Musetti.
Fery is one of nine British players scheduled to compete in the main draws at the US Open, the final Grand Slam tournament of the season.
Norrie and Jan Choinski will join him in the men’s draw, along with qualifiers Toby Samuel and Harry Wendelken and lucky loser Jacob Fearnley.
Katie Boulter, qualifier Fran Jones and Harriet Dart will represent Britain in the women’s draw. Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu are both absent because of injury.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
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