British tennis star Arthur Fery missed out on his first ATP Tour title after a straight-set defeat to Ignacio Buse in the final of the Winston-Salem Open. Fery, 24, lost 6-3 6-2 to Peru's Buse on Saturday.
Despite the loss, Fery, who reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in July, will climb to 33 in the world rankings. This rise will see him overtake Cameron Norrie to become the new British number one, a significant jump from being outside the top 100 just eight weeks ago.
The match saw little to separate the players early on before Buse took control, securing a break to love for a 5-3 lead in the first set. In the second set, Buse established a double break advantage, and despite Fery pulling one back, his opponent reeled off three straight games to seal the victory.
For 22-year-old Buse, this win marks his second career title and makes him the youngest ever winner of the Winston-Salem tournament. He previously beat American Tommy Paul at an ATP 500 event in Hamburg in May.
Fery will now head to New York for the US Open, which begins on Sunday. He is scheduled to face Italian 13th seed Lorenzo Musetti in his opening tie at Flushing Meadows, where he will be one of nine British players featuring in the main draws.