Buse Tennis: Sonego Starts 10th Rome Main Draw Against Buse
buse tennis puts Lorenzo Sonego in a familiar place on Day 2 of the ATP Italian Open in Rome: the home player opens his 10th ATP Rome main draw appearance against Ignacio Buse. The matchup arrives after a season interrupted by injury, leaving Sonego short on tournament rhythm as he returns to his home event.
Sonego’s Rome milestone
Sonego’s 10th main draw appearance is the number that frames this match. He reached the semifinals in Rome in 2021, so the setting has already produced one of his best tournament runs, but this time he comes in after missing several tournaments this season and not looking close to his usual self.
That is the friction point in this opener. Rome has often fit Sonego’s game, yet the current version has not had the same volume of match play, and a first-round matchup at a Masters event leaves little room to ease into form. Day 2 of the ATP Italian Open features 16 first-round matches, so this is one of several openings, but it stands out because it involves an Italian player in front of a home crowd at a venue where he has already gone deep.
Ignacio Buse on clay
Buse brings a different recent shape to the match. He has played at a very high level on clay this season and almost took out Arthur Fils in Madrid, a sign that he has already handled a tough clay-court test against a higher-profile opponent. Against Sonego, that recent level matters more than reputation.
The pairing also gives this first round a sharper edge than a routine opener. Sonego’s experience in Rome is long-running, but Buse’s form on clay gives him a live chance to turn the home favorite’s injury-hit season into a problem rather than a cushion. For Sonego, the task is to make his history in Rome count before the match becomes a grind.
Rome first-round slate
The rest of the Rome draw adds its own stakes around this match. Thiago Agustin Tirante is making his main draw debut in Rome, Gianluca Cadenasso will make his ATP Tour debut at the ATP Rome Masters, Nikoloz Basilashvili beat Rinky Hijikata in the final round of qualifying, and Daniel Merida reached the final in Bucharest and entered the top-100.
For this match, though, the immediate read is simple: Sonego is trying to turn a 10th Rome main draw appearance into another result at the tournament where he once reached the semifinals, while Buse arrives with clay-court momentum and a chance to spoil the home player’s return.
