Buse Wins Hamburg Open, Makes History For Peru

Ignacio Buse
Ignacio Buse (photo: Witters/Bitpanda Hamburg Open)

HAMBURG/WASHINGTON, May 23, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)

In the span of a week, Peru’s Ignacio Buse went from qualifier to history-making champion at the Bitpanda Hamburg Open in Germany’s second-largest city. It’s a week the likable South American will not soon forget.

During Saturday’s championship final of the ATP 500 event on red clay at Rothenbaum Tennis Stadium, the 57th-ranked Buse stunned World No. 26 Tommy Paul of the United States, 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-3, in three hours and three minutes to garner the first ATP Tour title of his career. It was also Buse’s third Top-30 victory of the week in Hamburg.

The 22-year-old Buse became the third qualifier to reach an ATP Tour final this season and he’s the first qualifier since Valentin Vacherot of Monaco at the Rolex Shanghai Masters last October to win a title final. He’s also the third qualifier in tournament history to win the Hamburg Open title – and the first since Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia in 2018.

Buse, a native of Lima, is the first Peruvian ATP Tour titlist since 2007, when Luis Horna won at Vina Del Mar in Chile. He joins Pablo Arraya (1, 1983), Jaime Yzaga (8, 1987-93) and Horna (2, 2006-07) as the only men’s tour-level singles champions from Peru. Arraya was on hand to watch Buse’s title triumph in Hamburg.

“Honestly, the only thing I think is my effort, my whole life. It’s fully emotional for my family,” Buse said during his on-court interview with ATP Media before the trophy ceremony. His father, Hans, who is a tennis coach, was in the stands to witness his son’s triumph.

“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.”

Looking back on how the title match unfolded, there were a flurry of early, back-and-forth service breaks – a total of four, two for each player – as each competitor battled the 27-degree Celsius heat that permeated Centre Court. Once Buse and Paul settled down, a tiebreaker decided the one-hour, 13-minute opening set and it was won by Buse 8-6. After Paul saved a couple of set points, Buse came through on his third try. He won a lengthy, 24-shot rally on his third set-point opportunity.

Then, Paul immediately broke Buse in the Peruvian’s first two service games of the second set and consolidated both breaks. He won eight of his first 10 points on serve for a 4-0 lead to start with an eye toward taking the championship final to a decider. However, Buse wasn’t ready to throw in the towel on the set. Instead, he came roaring back to win three straight games, holding his serve twice and breaking Paul in the seventh game to pull to within one game. However, Paul remained steady and won the 57-minute set 6-4 to send the title match to a decider.

As the third set developed, Buse jumped out to a 2-0 lead after breaking Paul on his fifth break-point opportunity to win the 16-point thriller. Then, Buse consolidated the break to jump ahead 3-0. Soon, he had a double-break of serve, leading 5-1, as he stepped up to serve for his first tour-level title. Paul wasn’t quite ready to surrender after breaking Buse to stay alive, still down a break, while consolidating with a hold of serve. 

Still ahead 5-3, Buse served for the title for a second time in the decider. This time, he didn’t throw away his shot. Buse reached championship point at 40-15 and won the Hamburg title after Paul hit an eighth-shot return long. Immediately, he fell to the court, overcome by the emotion of the triumph.

Soon, after shaking hands with Paul and chair umpire Fergus Murphy, Buse ran across the court and jumped into the stands to celebrate with his team and family. He reemerged from the happy scrum sporting a Peruvian flag that he waved with pride as he strode back to his bench.

During his on-court interview, Buse was asked to describe what his nerves were like playing in his first ATP Tour final.

“I struggled to sleep [last night],” Buse recalled. “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.”

Buse overcame 52 unforced errors to hit 27 winners, compared to 22 winners and 44 unforced errors by Paul. He won 69 percent (52 of 75) of his first-serve points, saved eight of 13 break points and converted five of 12 break-point opportunities against Paul. Buse outpointed his opponent 119-114. 

Despite the title loss, Paul was upbeat in his remarks during the trophy ceremony. “I want to congratulate Ignacio and his team on an amazing week. I enjoyed watching you play all the way until today,” he said, smiling. “Seriously, it was some amazing stuff. … I’ve absolutely enjoyed my time here and I will hopefully be back. I absolutely love Hamburg.”

As Buse gets ready to head to Roland-Garros, following his title success in northern Germany, he will break into the Top 50 for the first time when the PIF ATP Rankings are updated Monday. Buse will rise 26 places in the rankings to become the World No. 31 – just the fourth Top-50 player from Peru in rankings history after Arraya, Yzaga and Horna. Meanwhile, Paul will move up four spots to No. 22.

Krawietz and Puetz win third Hamburg doubles title

Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz of Germany made their team debut nine years ago in Hamburg. It’s a tournament that has always been meaningful to them, as they’ve now won three of their seven career doubles titles in northern Germany after capturing No. 3 on Saturday.

The third-seeded Krawietz and Puetz defeated unseeded Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul of France, 6-3, 4-6, 10-8, in one hour and 33 minutes on Centre Court. It was their sixth career win over the French duo in seven meetings.

The winners combined to hit four aces and won 73 percent (30 of 41) of their first-serve points. They converted two of five break-point chances and outpointed their opponents 63-56.

Krawietz, 34, and Puetz, 38, improved to 15-7 this season and are 143-67 since making their debut at Hamburg in 2017. They are the second team to win Hamburg three times following Spain’s Sergio Casal and Emilio Sanchez (1986, 1991-92). 

“Very special of course,” Krawietz said, quoted by the ATP Tour website. “To play in Germany, to play in Hamburg [where we have] three titles now, it’s a privilege to play on this beautiful court. A lot of people watching and all our families here, so we enjoyed it a lot.”

Puetz added: “It’s a special place for me. We have family here and we always have a wonderful time, win or lose. Really, it’s just a week that’s marked in our calendar. It’s a great city; it’s a great event and super happy to tie Emilio.”

Meanwhile, Doumbia and Reboul, who have won six ATP Tour titles together since their 2021 debut at Roland-Garros, including Bucharest earlier this season, dropped to 24-14 this season (135-106 overall).

By the numbers

Going into Saturday’s final, only six American men had won titles on European clay courts since 2000: Andre Agassi (2002, Rome), Andy Roddick (2003, St. Polten), Sam Querrey (2010, Belgrade), Sebastian Korda (2021, Parma) and Ben Shelton (2026, Munich).

“Quotable …”

“It’s more special for us with my dad here. I wish my mom 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.

“This is for them, for Peru, for me, for my family, for everyone that’s been involved in my life.”

– Newly-crowned Hamburg Open champion Ignacio Buse of Peru, during his on-court interview with ATP Media, describing the feeling of winning his first ATP Tour title.

 

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