Arthur Fery’s summer surge hit its first hard stop in Winston-Salem, where the Briton’s bid for a maiden ATP Tour title was cut down by a sharp, unflinching Ignacio Buse.
The Peruvian, 22 and playing with the freedom of a man in a hurry, won 6-3 6-2 to claim the Winston-Salem Open and become the youngest champion in the tournament’s history.
For Fery, it was a jolt. For Buse, a statement.
From Wimbledon roar to Winston-Salem reality
Only eight weeks ago, Fery was the surprise name on everyone’s lips at Wimbledon, riding a wave of home support all the way to the semi-finals. Back then, he was ranked outside the world’s top 100. On Saturday night in North Carolina, he walked on court as Britain’s rising hope; he walked off as Britain’s new number one.
The 24-year-old will climb to No. 33 in the world when the rankings update, moving past Cameron Norrie at the top of the British list. That milestone survives the defeat. The title, though, never felt close once Buse tightened his grip.
The opening exchanges suggested a contest. Both men held firm early, trading from the baseline, feeling for weaknesses. Then came the first real surge.
Serving at 3-4, Fery blinked. Buse pounced. A break to love for 5-3, punctuated by aggressive returns and unrelenting depth, tore open the set. Moments later, the Peruvian closed it out, and the match’s balance shifted with it.
Buse seizes control
If the first set slipped away, the second raced from Fery’s grasp.
Buse jumped on him straight away, ripping into returns and rushing Fery’s service games. One break became two, and suddenly the Briton was staring at a double-break deficit with little rhythm and even less time.
Fery did manage to claw back one of the breaks, a brief spark suggesting he might yet drag himself into a fight. The door opened a fraction. Buse slammed it shut.
The Peruvian reeled off three consecutive games to finish the job, never allowing the match to linger, never inviting tension. It was clinical, composed, and entirely in keeping with his season.
This is now Buse’s second career title of 2024, following his breakthrough triumph at the ATP 500 in Hamburg where he beat American Tommy Paul in the final. Winston-Salem confirms it: he is not a one-week wonder.
British number one heads to New York
Fery leaves North Carolina without the trophy, but not empty-handed.
He becomes the first Briton ever to reach the final in Winston-Salem, an ATP 250 staple on the US hard-court swing. He adds another deep run to a season that has redrawn his career trajectory in a matter of weeks. And he heads to New York with a new label attached to his name: British number one.
There is no time to dwell. The US Open starts on Sunday, and Fery will make his main-draw debut at Flushing Meadows. The draw has given him no soft landing. He opens against Italian 13th seed Lorenzo Musetti, a shot-maker capable of brilliance and chaos in the same set.
Fery is one of nine British players in the main draws in New York. In the men’s field he is joined by Norrie, Jan Choinski, qualifiers Toby Samuel and Harry Wendelken, and lucky loser Jacob Fearnley. In the women’s draw, Katie Boulter leads the charge alongside qualifiers Fran Jones and Harriet Dart.
Notably absent are Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu, both sidelined by injury, a reminder that British tennis’ momentum remains fragile even as new names push forward.
For now, Fery swaps the smaller, more intimate setting of Winston-Salem for the noise and scale of Flushing Meadows. The first ATP title will have to wait. The bigger stage, and a tougher test, is already calling.
