Duckworth Completes Winston-Salem Last Four With Upset Win

Duckworth springs a surprise as all four semi-final spots are filled

Friday's quarter-final action at the Winston-Salem Open produced four compelling matches and a clear message ahead of the US Open: Australia's James Duckworth has no intention of going quietly before the year's final Grand Slam. The unseeded Australian overcame seeded Hungarian Fabian Marozsan 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-4 to earn his place in the last four in North Carolina, completing a semi-final lineup that few would have predicted at the start of the week.

Duckworth dropped the opening tie-break 4-7, but the nature of his response told the story of a player comfortable in pressure situations. He dismantled Marozsan in the second set with flat, penetrating groundstrokes, easing through 6-2, and carried that momentum into a composed 6-4 decider. Marozsan, who had been one of the stronger seeded performers early in the week, found no way back into the match after the second-set collapse. For Duckworth — a veteran who has built his entire career on resilience and grinding ability — it represents one of the most meaningful results of his time on the ATP Tour on hard courts.

Féry rallies from a set down in the top half

Duckworth faces Arthur Féry in the semi-finals. The fourth-seeded Frenchman delivered arguably the comeback of the entire tournament on Friday. After losing the opening set 3-6 to American Aleksandar Kovacevic, Féry raised his level with notable composure, winning 7-5 in the second set before dominating the third 6-3 to advance. His ability to stay mentally engaged through a difficult opening set — and then dictate play on his own terms — speaks to a maturity that has been the hallmark of his week in North Carolina. Féry now stands two wins from the title.

Buse survives Cerundolo; Bonzi sweeps into the semis

The lower half of the draw produced its own sharp storylines. Third-seeded Peruvian Ignacio Buse needed three sets to see off Argentina's Juan Manuel Cerundolo, winning 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-2. The opening set was tight and went the way of the tie-break; the second shifted in Cerundolo's favour as the Argentine found his range at the back of the court. But Buse responded emphatically in the decider, imposing his aggressive baseline game to pull clear and book his semi-final place. The Peruvian enters the US Open in outstanding form.

His semi-final opponent, Benjamin Bonzi, made it through with the least drama of the quartet. The Frenchman dismissed Botic van de Zandschulp 7-6(5), 6-4 with a performance that blended consistency from the baseline with well-timed net approaches. Bonzi has not dropped a set all week in Winston-Salem and carries the momentum of a player who has been playing some of his best tennis of the season.

Saturday's semis with US Open on the horizon

The two semi-finals at the Winston-Salem Open are scheduled for Saturday at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

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Duckworth vs. Féry — The unseeded Australian veteran faces the fourth-seeded Frenchman who has been the week's most consistent performer in terms of quality. Féry may be the favourite on paper, but Duckworth has dismantled that logic throughout the draw.

Buse vs. Bonzi — A battle between two players who arrived in Winston-Salem with a point to prove. Buse's big-hitting game faces its sternest test yet against a Bonzi who has barely been troubled from the first round onwards.

All four semi-finalists are entered in the US Open main draw, which opens on Monday in Flushing Meadows. A title in Winston-Salem would be the perfect pre-tournament statement — and on Friday's evidence, any of the four is capable of claiming it.