Ignacio Buse: The Rising Star of Peruvian Tennis

The surname Buse is to tennis like the racket itself. Before the open era, the brothers Eduardo – Ignacio’s grandfather – and Enrique competed in the US Championship, today the US Open. And his legacy is maintained in players like Ignacio, Nacho, the 19-year-old Peruvian talent who fought point by point in the Davis Cup against Chile. The future is him too.

After his great performance in the Davis, Nacho resumes his activity on the circuit and starting tomorrow he plays for the M25 of Vila Real de Santo Antonio, in Portugal. In the first round he faces the local Jaime Faria, current 390 ATP. The Peruvian occupies box 440 and seeks to add points to get into positions that allow him to compete in Challenger tournaments.

LOOK: “In a few years we will have one more player in the elite”: Ignacio Buse, the 19-year-old project that is consolidating itself in Peruvian tennis | PROFILE

What feelings did that series against Chile leave you?

The whole team was quite sad, but the important thing is that we left everything there, on the field. After the last game, which ended at 12 or 1 am, I was only able to go to sleep at 6. Defeats hurt and I know that I will be thinking about the game, thinking about what we lost, what we could have done. better. These are things that have to be assimilated and time turns by itself. What we know is that we are going to have our chances.

How to ensure that defeat does not cover up the good that was done in the series?

What we have shown is that there is a team. We cannot blame Juanpi because it is because of him that we are here, in these instances. We have shown that we can give points, that we have our doubles team, that we can stand up for Peru even if one is not weak, as was the case with Juanpi. There is nothing to reproach, we are a team and we are here for that. At the end of the day, it is so that we can all get through the games and perform in the best way.

Ignacio Buse is 19 years old and trains in Barcelona. (Photo: Itea Sports)

And the experience of playing on a visit to a classic

What I have experienced no one can take away from me. Being in front of a Chilean audience, more than five thousand people screwing up, damn…, telling you everything. Nobody takes it away from me. It is an experience that I will never forget in my life. I’m super happy about that, because I love playing like that, whether the public is against or for. It’s an incredible environment and really, if tennis didn’t have this, it wouldn’t have any purpose. Playing without an audience is fun, but with an atmosphere like this it is incredible.

You seemed calm despite the Chilean pressure

I feel that with the presence of my team it is felt more than that of all Chileans. That gives me peace of mind. I know win or lose they are going to be behind me. If I win I want to dedicate it to them and if I lose, I still want to give them the peace of mind that I gave everything on the court. It is normal for the Chilean public to be like this, and it is not that it affects us because I only made a double fault in the game with Tabilo. It’s not that it was crazy, it’s nice to play with that environment and that pushes us to our limits.

Is this a good start to the season for you?

I think we’re going with our heads held high. We fought in their conditions, on their hard court, in their stadium with five thousand people, with their blunders, with their whoring. To everything. We stood up and gave everything we could. For me, the best thing would be for you to please compete like this for the rest of the year and I know that I will have a pretty good future. I hope I compete like this for the rest of the year and things work out for me.

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There is equipment, definitely. Juanpi is 28, around Huertas del Pino. You and Gonza are very young.

What Lucho was looking for was consolidation of a doubles pair. Juan Pablo and the Huertas del Pino brothers have been with us for about 10 years and that makes them have the maturity of the team. They have the experience that we lack. The brothers are the starting couple, they have been playing doubles in an incredible way. I hope they do excellent and can consolidate. Gonzalo, Juanpi and I are the singles players and it will depend on how our year goes and how we get to the Davis Cup, on the surface. Maybe it’s Gonza or me to play, but we will always be supporting each other and that is the most important thing.

Was starting the season on a hard court in Barcelona because the Davis Cup was played on that court or is it something personal?

It’s totally personal. I would have played on a hard court even if Davis had not been on that surface. Now I have to play three hard court tournaments in Portugal, so it’s not that it hasn’t been a strategy. I had an incredible preseason, yes. Davis is a huge commitment and as soon as I played my last game in Spain I traveled to Chile to get used to the height and the balls.

They told me that your style is more suited to these courts

I feel comfortable on both surfaces. The more I play, the better I feel. I adapt a lot because I have a game that can play well on all surfaces. Suddenly comparing myself to the Peruvians my style is a little more hard court, which does not mean that Gonza cannot play on hard court, but my profile as a player or style may adapt better.

You are more technical and Gonza more physical?

Gonza still has an incredible technique, an incredible head and he is not going to give you a ball until the end. This also infects you. I still gave everything on the court, so everyone has their own things. There are people who compare us, that this one is better than this one, and we don’t like it. We like that you enjoy us and both of us equally, that you enjoy our process. Don’t compare us.

How are you taking the step from Junior to professionalism?

Last year I had a complicated operation. I was off the courts for four months without being able to play tournaments. After that I won a couple of Futures and they were the ones that gave me confidence because I came from the bottom. I hope this year I can do the same, go little by little, winning Futures, winning a Challenger and hopefully I can get into the Qualys of the Grand Slams.

Did you have doubts?

It is a time of great uncertainty because things are not clear at all. As soon as I returned from the operation, I lost my first very, very bad game and many doubts arose: whether I could reach the level I had before. I had never had injuries. But I realized that if you put your mind to it, you are capable of anything. I set out to reach the level I was before and I wanted to get like a bull physically and I’m achieving it.

Your physical condition was criticized a lot

I think I have improved. Of course I am missing and I think I have made quite a lot of progress and I feel better.

How did you take the fact that going to university didn’t materialize?

I took it easy because then I started to do well in the Futures and Challenger. Since I have the support of the Peruvian Tennis Federation and the TEC of Barcelona, ​​I am calmer on that side.

Is there a possibility that the university path will be opened again or is professionalism already on track?

I see professionalism very very well directed. I have the support of the Federation. I am aware that I have to continue competing like this. I am very mature, but there are still things to learn. You have to get used to increasing the level of play all the time and that is achieved by playing and playing.

And in addition to being surrounded by people like Lucho Horna

It is a super guide. She is giving everything for us, for the team, and for the next generation that comes from her, because there are more names than us like Nakamine, Lulu Pérez, among others.

You mentioned that when Lucho won the Roland Garros doubles, it was a topic of conversation in your house. You were very small in 2008 and then Horna retired. What was it like growing up in a sport without active role models?

No, there wasn’t. I never had a Peruvian idol. I always loved to see, but there was no top Peruvian. Since Juanpi started winning the Challengers, Gonza and I saw him as a reference. We began to follow his path and began to generate a closer relationship with him. We are very friends and the Davis Cup unites us tremendously.

Horna, Buse and Bueno, in 2022 when the young people reached the final of Roland Garros in doubles. (Photo: Tennis Federation)

But you did grow up in a tennis environment. Your father was your first coach

My dad (Hans) was and is my mentor. He taught me to play tennis until I was 12 years old and until last year he was still my coach a little bit. He now gives me advice, but he trained in Spain. I always have it on hand because I know that a father’s love is wanting the best for me so I always have to listen to it.

How do you feel about having the last name Buse?

It is an incredible honor. Whenever I play at Buse Stadium – in Lawn Tennis – it seems like an incredible honor. I feel that way because I keep my family in mind, they are always aware of my triumphs and I am proud of that.

But you didn’t get to know him

No, I didn’t get to know my grandfather, but I have seen many photos of him and my dad has told me what he was like. I know that he and a great uncle were legends of Peruvian tennis when there were no big tournaments. I know they did it pretty well in their time and nothing more.

In an interview with ITF you said that if you could talk to someone from the past it would be your grandfather and be able to talk about tennis

Totally, because I never got to know him. I would have liked to have a conversation with him.

That’s why he always talks about the pride of your last name and the honor it was to play on the Hermanos Buse court at Lawn Tennis.

Yes, I carry the surname with honor. I’m quite proud. I know that I have inherited things from him such as character, self-confidence, talent. That’s basically it.

And he doesn’t pressure you?

Pressure is what we least need to feel now. There are situations, like against Chile, in which I had the responsibility of giving the pass to Peru, but it was not pressure. I went out to play, to have fun, but I ran into a Tabilo who had just won an ATP. It is a level that takes you to the limit.

And what are you like off the field?

I am very extroverted, very sociable, but I go to tournaments calmly. I always try to go like this because they remind me to never stop being humble. I barely get the fumes going up, bye. It has never happened to me because my parents always remind me of it and they are the values ​​with which they have raised me.

Goals for this season?

In the short term I want to get into a Grand Slam Qualy. God willing at Roland Garros. Or Wimbledon or the US Open, anyone. But I have to think that if I don’t achieve it, not to lose faith, not to lose hope and keep trying until I achieve it.

Thinking about the qualys is about taking a big leap

If you notice, the Qualys close at 240 ATP. I am 440 and there are 200 positions difference. A couple of Challengers that suit me well and I’m in, but little by little things are going to happen. Tennis is very much of the moment and I trust that. You have to be persistent.

And how do you handle the sponsorship issue?

Privately, I only have the support of Herbalife, from TEC, which is the Barcelona Academy with which we have reached an agreement to train. I’m very happy to be there. Afterwards there are no private companies that support me, except for the issue of Engie that supports the Davis Cup team and of course the Federation that supports me to be able to travel to the tournaments.

(Foto: Itea Sports)

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