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Arthur Fery recovered from a set down to beat Aleksandar Kovacevic 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 and reach the Winston-Salem Open semi-finals. James Duckworth, Ignacio Buse and Benjamin Bonzi completed the last four, with third seed Buse the highest-ranked player remaining. Three of the four quarter-finals went to a deciding set.
Winston-Salem, United States: A tournament that has already lost its top two seeds spent Thursday thinning out further, and the four men left standing were not the four anyone had drawn.
Arthur Fery is seeded fourth, and he needed three sets to get there. The Briton lost the opening set 6-3 to Aleksandar Kovacevic — the American who had removed seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the previous round — before taking the second 7-5 and the decider 6-3.
It is Fery’s second ATP Tour semi-final, and the first came only last month. Ranked 114th at the time, he reached the last four at Wimbledon, becoming the first unseeded British player to do so in the Open Era.
Duckworth Turns It Around Too
Fery’s semi-final opponent will be James Duckworth, who produced a recovery of his own against 15th seed Fabian Marozsan.
The Australian lost the opening tiebreak 7-4 and then won the next two sets 6-2, 6-4. It continues a strong week for a player who has climbed from 106th to 74th in the live rankings across the past twelve months, and who is already in the main draw at Flushing Meadows next week.
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Marozsan had reached the quarter-finals by beating wildcard Martin Damm 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, the American’s own week having included the removal of top seed Daniil Medvedev.
Buse Keeps the Seeding Alive
Ignacio Buse, the third seed, is the highest-ranked player left in the draw and needed three sets to stay there.
The Peruvian took the opening tiebreak 7-4 against eighth seed Juan Manuel Cerundolo, lost the second 6-4, and closed out the decider 6-2. He is chasing a first ATP Tour final, and the ranking maths behind it is significant: the win lifts him to a virtual 33rd, close to his career high of 31st, with a top-30 debut available should he take the title.
Bonzi the Only Straight-Sets Winner
Benjamin Bonzi provided the round’s one uncomplicated result, beating 13th seed Botic van de Zandschulp 7-6 (5), 6-4.
The Frenchman has been in ruthless form. His round of 16 win over Rinky Hijikata took 57 minutes and finished 6-1, 6-1, with Bonzi winning 96 per cent of points behind his first serve and converting five of seven break points.
Van de Zandschulp, last year’s runner-up here, had beaten second seed Luciano Darderi 6-1, 6-0 in the previous round in 68 minutes.
Bonzi meets Buse on Friday.
Quarter-final results — Winston-Salem Open
[4] A. Fery d. A. Kovacevic 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
[3] I. Buse d. [8] J. M. Cerundolo 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-2
B. Bonzi d. [13] B. van de Zandschulp 7-6 (5), 6-4
J. Duckworth d. [15] F. Marozsan 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-4
Semi-finals: Fery v Duckworth · Buse v Bonzi
Venue: Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
