The final ATP match prior to the U.S. Open will take place on Saturday afternoon at the Winston-Salem Open, where Ignacio Buse and Arthur Fery are set to battle for the title. Their only previous meeting came last fall in the first round of Stockholm qualifying, with Fery cruising 6-3, 6-1.
This is a long way from a first-round qualifying match, and it is a well-deserved much bigger stage for two guys who have made massive strides in the 10 months since their Stockholm encounter.
Fery famously advanced to the semifinals at Wimbledon, winning a string of five-setters and clobbering Flavio Cobolli in the quarters before falling to Alexander Zverev. The 37th-ranked Brit is showing no signs of slowing down, as he booked a spot in his first ATP final this week by beating Cruz Hewitt, Mees Rottgering, Aleksandar Kovacevic, and James Duckworth. Only Kovacevic managed to take a set.
Buse’s 2026 rise is highlighted by a 500-point title on the red clay of Hamburg. The 22-year-old Peruvian has earned 21 of his 29 career main-tour match victories this season. That includes four in Winston-Salem at the expense of Adam Walton, Daniel Altmaier, Juan Manuel Cerundolo, and Benjamin Bonzo.
It has been a tough week for Buse. Three of the world No. 36’s matches first four matches required a third set and the only one that didn’t was a 7-6(5), 7-5 struggle against Altmaier. Fery, on the other hand, has mostly coasted through his draw and got a retirement from Duckworth early in the second set on Friday. The 24-year-old is more rested and is a superior hard-court player, so look for him to secure his first ATP title.
Pick: Fery in 3
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LOL. Y’all have been picking against Buse for 3 matches in a row now 😂 stop with the nonsense. 🤡