Britain’s Arthur Fery has reached his first ATP Tour final after opponent James Duckworth retired because of injury at the Winston-Salem Open.
The 24-year-old was leading 6-4 2-1 in the semi-final when his Australian opponent, who called for a medical timeout after the first set, forfeited the match.
Fery is the first Briton to reach the final of the ATP 250 event and his progress continues after his surprise run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in July.
He has also reached a career high of 33 in the world and overtaken Cameron Norrie to become British number one.
“I am really happy to be in the final,” said Fery.
“Not the way I wanted it to end at all. I hope James will get well soon and rest up for next week. But I am very happy to be through.”
Fery faces Ignacio Buse in Saturday’s final in North Carolina after the 22-year-old beat France’s Benjamin Bonzi 6-2 4-6 6-1.
Peru’s Buse, who is ranked 36th in the world, will be aiming to win his second title of the season after beating Tommy Paul at the ATP 500 event in Hamburg in May.
Only eight weeks ago, before Fery’s remarkable run to the Wimbledon semi-finals, he was ranked outside the top 100.
His maiden ATP final appearance against Buse comes before next month’s US Open, where he just missed out on being seeded.
Fery has been drawn against Italian 13th seed Lorenzo Musetti in the opening round at Flushing Meadows in New York.
