ATP Tour

Buse brilliance in Hamburg! Peruvian qualifier stuns Paul to claim maiden title

Ignacio Buse kept his cool at the end of a topsy-turvy championship match to secure a landmark breakthrough title on Saturday at the Bitpanda Hamburg Open.

The 22-year-old qualifier upset sixth seed Tommy Paul 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-3 across more than three hot and humid hours at Am Rothenbaum to claim a statement trophy at the clay ATP 500. Buse received treatment for dizziness from the tournament doctor after just five games and appeared to be fading fast after falling to 0-4 in the second set, but he rallied superbly to overhaul Paul and earn his maiden ATP Tour crown.

Buse is the first Peruvian ATP Tour titlist since Luis Horna won Vina del Mar in 2007. He joins Pablo Arraya (one title), Jaime Yzaga (eight titles) and Horna (two titles) as the only male tour-level singles champions from the South American nation. Arraya was in the stands in Hamburg to watch his countryman Buse's triumph.

“[I have given] effort for my whole life. It’s fully emotional for my family,” said Buse, whose father Hans is a tennis coach and was in Hamburg to see his son’s victory. “So many people involved that I cannot describe. This is for them and I feel extremely happy. It’s the best feeling in my entire life for sure. I feel incredibly happy. I don’t know what to say. I’m also really proud of Peru. It’s the best country in the world so I’m just so emotional now.”

Buse is also the first qualifier to win an ATP Tour title since Valentin Vacherot’s surprise run to Rolex Shanghai Masters glory last October. He is the third qualifier to win an ATP 500 crown in series history (since 2009), after Nikoloz Basilashvili won Hamburg in 2018 and Daniil Medvedev triumphed in Tokyo that same year.

The pivotal moments of Buse’s three-hour, three-minute win against Paul arguably came in the second game of the deciding set. The Peruvian let slip four break points but finally converted on his fifth to move 2-0 ahead, and he subsequently sealed his upset having converted five of 12 break points he earned, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

“I struggled to sleep [last night]," Buse revealed. "I was rolling in bed for an hour trying to sleep, but I think I did it. I think I managed the third set really well and I am so proud of how I managed it.

“It’s more special for us [with my dad here]. I wish my mum was here also, but she is in Paris. She was also nervous. I know she doesn’t enjoy live matches that much because she gets so nervous, but I know she’s enjoying this so much. Both of my parents have given such an effort all my life.”

With victory in his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Paul, Buse improved to 4-3 against Top-30 opponents: Three of those victories have come this week in Hamburg (vs. Cobolli in R1, vs. Mensik in R2, vs. Paul in the final).

Following his Hamburg triumph, Buse is guaranteed to hit another milestone on Monday, when he will break the Top 50 of the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time. He will rise 26 spots to become the World No. 31, making him just the fourth Top 50 player from Peru in PIF ATP Rankings history after Arraya, Yzaga and Horna.