Rome, May 9, 2026, 19:08 CEST
Ignacio Buse knocked out Lorenzo Sonego 6-3, 6-3 in the opening round of the Italian Open in Rome, booking a second-round meeting with seeded American Frances Tiafoe. The ATP clocked the match at 1 hour and 41 minutes on Campo Centrale.
Buse’s victory wasn’t just about ousting an Italian on home soil. It propelled him into the round of 64 at an ATP Masters 1000—the highest tier below the Grand Slams—where No. 20 seed Tiafoe now stands in his path, both players landing in the same section of the draw.
That win put a rare Peruvian stamp on Rome. According to ATP, Buse is just the fourth player from Peru to notch a main-draw victory at this tournament in the Open Era, alongside Jaime Yzaga, Pablo Arraya and Luis Horna. The tour also pointed out he held No. 54 in the live rankings—the provisional standings mid-event.
The market didn’t see this one coming. According to Oddschecker analyst Peter Alexis, Buse went in as the favorite, but he flagged the Peruvian as the “younger, in-form clay-court threat” and expected something drawn out, not a straightforward result. Oddschecker
Ateet Shrivastava of Last Word on Sports went with Buse in three, noting the Peruvian’s “very high level on clay this season.” Sonego, by contrast, still wasn’t at his usual standard after dealing with injuries. Whatever lift the Italian crowd might have given him faded quickly after play began. Last Word On Sports
Buse didn’t outpace Sonego in outright winners; according to ATP, they each tallied 16. The real difference showed up in errors: Buse limited himself to 15 unforced, while Sonego racked up 31. Buse broke serve four times, saved six out of seven break points, and that was enough.
Buse’s one blip surfaced up 6-3, 4-2, as Sonego snagged a break. But Buse quickly shut the door, sweeping the next games to wrap it up—no drama, even with the home crowd hoping for Sonego to turn things around.
Tennis TV called out a standout rally with the headline “Buse is everywhere!”, pointing to the Peruvian’s relentless defense in the opening round. Sonego produced a few highlights, but Buse’s consistency stood out. Tennis TV
Pressure ramps up for Buse—Tiafoe stands right there as a seeded obstacle. Look a few lines away in the Rome bracket, and names like Arthur Fils and Andrey Rublev wait as potential clay hurdles, should Buse push forward.
One match isn’t enough to call it. Tiafoe’s got more speed and can disrupt with a tempo Sonego didn’t show. On Thursday, Buse leaned hard on minimizing mistakes; if that slips and starts to look like Sonego’s numbers, any jump in the rankings—or the Peru angle—could shrink in a hurry.
Sonego heads out in straightforward fashion. Home-court advantage, tour accolades, Rome as an opportunity—none of it helped this time. Just three games per set, and another clay result that leaves his form under scrutiny.
