Hamburg, May 24 (IANS) Qualifier Ignacio Buse capped off his dream week with Hamburg Open title, defeating world No. 26 American Tommy Paul 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-3.
The 22-year-old Peruvian prevailed in a high-quality final after 3 hours and 3 minutes, becoming the first player of the 2026 calendar year to secure the title on the ATP Tour as a qualifier. The last qualifier to lift the trophy at Rothenbaum was Nikoloz Basilashvili in 2018.
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.
From the very first rally, the final delivered exactly what the fans at Rothenbaum had hoped for. Both players engaged in intense baseline duels, whipping their forehands over the net at tremendous speed and facing off tactically at the highest level. Four consecutive breaks underscored the intensity and tactical intelligence of both finalists.
The tiebreak was the logical conclusion to a high-class first set in which both Buse and Paul repeatedly found the right answers. Amid the roaring cheers of the spectators, the Peruvian ultimately won the set narrowly 7-6 (6) and cemented his status as the crowd favourite at Rothenbaum, the tournament reports.
Paul had already proven time and again on his way to the end that he never gives up and is incredibly resilient. At the start of the second set, Buse seemed to lose some energy under the blazing Hamburg sun. The Peruvian briefly lost the precision he’d shown in previous days and quickly fell behind 0–4.
But Buse impressively demonstrated why he had thrilled the fans in Hamburg. He fought his way back, narrowed the gap to 3-4, and made the set exciting once again. In the end, Paul still took the set 6-4—but Buse had regained the momentum.
In the decisive third set, Buse held his serve with nerves of steel and then converted his fifth break point to take a 2-0 lead. He continued to play courageously, withstood the pressure, and ultimately closed out the set with confidence. Even a break at 5-2 didn’t rattle Buse.
Following his Hamburg triumph, Buse is guaranteed to hit another milestone on Monday, when he will break the Top 50 of the 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.
–IANS
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