VIC, May 19, 2024
The list of world-class tennis players from Peru is rather short. Besides Hall of Fame member Alejandro Olmedo, who was born in the Andean nation but competed for the United States, notable names include Jaime Yzaga, Luis Horna, and Pablo Arraya. Each member of this trio has won at least one singles title on the ATP Tour.
However, a new generation of players from Peru is emerging. Juan Pablo Varillas is currently just outside the Top 100 but was ranked as high as No. 60 in the world a year ago. Additionally, Goncalo Bueno and Ignacio Buse are both ranked within the Top 400.
The latter won his third title on the Pro Circuit on Sunday at the ITF M25 Vic in Catalonia, Spain. The 20-year-old defeated Spanish qualifier and first-time finalist Albert Pedrico Kravtsov 6-3, 6-2 in an entertaining championship match of the clay-court tournament.
After a week facing capricious weather and a couple of interruptions due to rain, the sun returned to the capital of the comarca of Osona on Sunday. In front of about 200 spectators at the Club Tennis Vic, Buse set the tone early broke his rival’s serve in the first game and tried to stay aggressive. The World No. 396 won 78 per cent of his first-service points and capitalized on six of his 12 break-point chances to secure victory in one hour and 34 minutes.
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“I am good friends with Albert. We train at the same academy in Barcelona, so we know each other a lot and it was a difficult match. It was tough to play against him but I am also happy for him, as he also had an amazing week here.” Buse told Tennis TourTalk.
“It was faster today but the balls are pretty slow at ITF M25 tournaments. It helped me maybe a bit today but we both had a good tournament. I hope to continue like this in Mataró next week. The level at Futures here in Catalonia is the best and the Spanish Federation does a good job giving us players many opportunities to compete.”
Buse came to Europe in December last year and is now based at TEC Carles Ferrer Salat Academy in Barcelona.
“It’s really hard work every day. Being here a champion shows that the hard work is paying off. I am very thankful to my whole team. I still want to improve and I am hungry for more. I am really happy with the title but I hope there are still many more to come,” the 20-year-old Lima native said.
By winning his third career title on the ITF World Tennis Tour, his first of the season, Buse earned 25 ATP Ranking points.
