HAMBURG/WASHINGTON, May 22, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)
Qualifier Ignacio Buse of Peru, who had already secured his Top-50 debut next week, came into his Bitpanda Hamburg Open semifinal against 94th-ranked American lucky loser Aleksandar Kovacevic Friday afternoon seeking to reach his first ATP Tour final at this ATP 500 event in northern Germany.
By the end of their 64-minute tussle on red clay, it was the 57th-ranked Buse who was doing all of the celebrating. He won 6-1, 6-4, to become the first Peruvian since Luis Horna in 2007 to reach a tour-level final.
In fact, the 22-year-old Buse is just the fourth Peruvian in the Open Era to reach a tour-level final. On the other side of the net, Kovacevic was seeking his biggest ATP Tour final to become the first American men’s Hamburg finalist since Jimmy Connors in 1981 and to become the first lucky loser to reach an ATP Tour final this season.
The 19-year drought is over 🇵🇪
Ignacio Buse becomes the first Peruvian finalist on the ATP Tour since Luis Horna at 2007 Vina del Mar – when Buse was aged just 2!#bitpandahamburgopen pic.twitter.com/oBse1CKvG3
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 22, 2026
However, from first ball to last ball, Buse was by far the better player. He dropped just four points on his serve, winning 32 of 36 service points, and did not face any break points. He won 46 percent (24 of 52) of his return points – converting four of five break-point chances – and outpointed Kovacevic 56-32. Although Buse hit just 12 winners, he made only seven unforced errors. Kovacevic countered with seven winners and committed 24 unforced errors.
“I am so happy today,” Buse exclaimed during his on-court interview with ATP Media, after his PIF ATP Live Ranking jumped to No. 36 with his semifinal triumph. “This feeling is amazing and I can’t describe how I am feeling right now. I think he did not play his best tennis today but I managed to play really great.”
Buse is feeling it 🔥
The young Peruvian leads Kovacevic by a double break in the first set of their semi-final!#bitpandahamburgopen pic.twitter.com/nRYFeT1fJP
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 22, 2026
Meanwhile, in the second semifinal, No. 3 seed Alex de Minaur of Australia took a 5-1 head-to-head series lead into his match with No. 6 seed Tommy Paul of the United States. However, after losing the opening set 6-2, Paul recovered nicely and came away with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over de Minaur in two hours and 17 minutes to advance to Saturday’s final and a first-time meeting against Buse. Paul is the first American to reach the Hamburg final in 45 years.
While the World No. 9 de Minaur was looking to reach his first ATP Tour final on clay to become the first Australian to reach a clay-court final above the ATP 250 level since Patrick Rafter in 1999 at Rome, instead, Paul is through to his second final on clay this season following his title run at Houston in April.
The first American men’s Hamburg finalist since Jimmy Connors in 1981 🤯@TommyPaul1 reels off 12 of the last 15 games to take down de Minaur 2-6 6-3 6-3!#bitpandahamburgopen pic.twitter.com/QpLnTIV8VX
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 22, 2026
The World No. 26 Paul won nine-consecutive games from midway through the second set and rallied from a 2-6, 0-3 deficit to win. It was his fourth Top-10 win on clay. He struck 29 winners and converted four of 17 break-point opportunities. Paul outpointed de Minaur 92-84.
Such character 👏@TommyPaul1 comes from 6-2 3-0 down to take de Minaur to a decider in Hamburg!#bitpandahamburgopen pic.twitter.com/T2CtKrNrdS
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 22, 2026
“I was in panic mode, down a set and 3-0,” Paul said during his on-court interview with ATP Media. “I thought he was playing amazing tennis and I was just trying to find ways to win points. I feel like I stayed resilient, put balls in, made points longer and I started finding my forehand. I shifted it and started playing some really good tennis.”
Around Rothenbaum Stadium
Unseeded French duo Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul went the distance to defeat wild cards Jakob Schnaitter and Mark Wallner of Germany, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 10-5, in one hour and 54 minutes to win their semifinal-round match and gain a berth in Saturday’s doubles final.
Next, Doumbia and Reboul will face No. 3 seeds Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz of Germany, who received a walk over into the title match after the withdrawal of their semifinal opponents, unseeded Guido Andreozzi of Argentina and Manuel Guinard of France, due to an injury suffered by Andreozzi on Thursday.
🎾 Match won by 🇫🇷 Doumbia/🇫🇷 Reboul
The doubles pair advance to the finals after a hard-fought battle (6⁴-7, 6-3, 10-5) 🔥#bitpandahamburgopen pic.twitter.com/4oUA6wzmYJ— Bitpanda Hamburg Open (@hamburgopenatp) May 22, 2026
Saturday’s Hamburg Open order of play
By the numbers
This year marked the fourth time that two Americans reached the Hamburg singles semifinals, with Tommy Paul and Aleksandar Kovacevic. Previously, Jimmy Connors and Harold Solomon advanced to the Hamburg semifinals in 1981. Before that, Solomon and Eliot Teltscher were semifinalists in back-to-back years, 1979 and 1980.
“Quotable …”
“The last 20 or 30 minutes of this match, the conditions couldn’t have been any slower and any heavier. The balls were humungous. It was very physical, very tough to get the ball past him and I thought he was able to use his strength to move the ball around a bit better. So, it got quite tight at the end but overall, I’m very happy with the match.”
– World No. 9 and third seed Alex de Minaur of Australia, during his on-court interview Thursday evening after winning his quarterfinal match over Luciano Darderi of Italy, 6-3, 6-0.
