Flavio Cobolli vs Ignacio Buse Tips, Prediction & Live Stream - Cobolli begins Hamburg title defence

Andrew Hendrie

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Last updated: Tue 19 May 2026 00:49

Andrew Hendrie 19 May 2026

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Flavio Cobolli vs Ignacio Buse predictions for Tuesday's ATP Hamburg R1 match
Cobolli is the defending Hamburg champion & is having solid clay swing
Buse still looking to prove himself at this level, but has been competitive in recent months
The match is scheduled to start at 8.00pm AEST on Tuesday May 19

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Flavio Cobolli (Photo by Getty Images)

Flavio Cobolli vs Ignacio Buse Tips, Prediction & Live Stream

The enigmatic Flavio Cobolli launches his Hamburg Open title defence on Tuesday when he comes up against young Peruvian clay courter Ignacio Buse in the first round.

Flavio Cobolli vs Ignacio Buse Tips, Prediction & Live Stream
Cobolli vs Buse Stats & Trends
Cobolli vs Buse Head To Head
Flavio Cobolli Form Analysis
Ignacio Buse Form Analysis
Cobolli vs Buse Live Stream

Cobolli remains one of the flashiest players on tour - it's largely rocks or diamonds for the Italian, but he's on the verge of cracking the top 10 after various standout results over the last 12 months. However, Cobolli is defending 500 points this week in Hamburg after collecting the title, so the pressure is on ahead of Roland Garros. Nevertheless, Cobolli will be confident - he has a good record in Germany after recently taking the 500 title in Munich last month.

Meanwhile, Buse has established himself in the top 100 after some good results during the Golden Swing and he will now be looking to prove he belongs at this level outside of South America. It's a decent little opportunity here for Buse, with Cobolli erratic and perhaps feeling the pressure of being defending champion with lots of points on the line.

Still, I can't go against the Italian - at the end of the day, he's the far superior player and he should be locked in here. Buse has won at least one set in the overwhelming majority of his recent outings, so Cobolli prevailing in three offers value.

Cobolli vs Buse Stats & Trends

Cobolli has won nine of his 13 matches this clay swing
Cobolli has won six of his seven previous Hamburg matches
Cobolli has won 10 of his last 12 clay matches vs players outside the top 50
Five of those 10 wins for Cobolli came in three sets
Buse has a 2-4 record vs top 50 players this season
Buse has won 1+ set in 17 of his last 19 matches

Cobolli vs Buse Head To Head

This will be the first career meeting between the pair.

Flavio Cobolli Form Analysis

2026 Record: 18-11
ATP Hamburg Record: 6-1
Current Ranking: No. 12
Career-High Ranking: No. 12 (May 2026)

It's been a prolific last 12 months for Cobolli as he arrives at his Hamburg title defence at No. 12 in the world.

However, with 500 points to defend here and Wimbledon quarter-final points also on the horizon, he will do well to break into the top 10 over the coming months.

As mentioned, it's been a rollercoaster year for Cobolli - he won the Munich title, finished runner-up in Acapulco and reached the Madrid Masters quarter-finals in impressive performances.

However, the Italian also lost his first or second match at seven tournaments across the year, so it goes without saying consistency remains an area to work on.

Cobolli surged to his maiden ATP 500 title in Hamburg last year, toppling Andrey Rublev in straight sets in the final.

Ignacio Buse Form Analysis

2026 Record: 7-8
ATP Hamburg Record: 0-0
Current Ranking: No. 57
Career-High Ranking: No. 57 (May 2026)

Buse enjoyed a huge ranking jump into the world's top 60 following his run to the 500-level Rio Open semi-finals in February.

This has allowed him to gain direct entry into most big tournaments, but Buse has only managed three tour-level victories since, illustrating he still has work to do in order to prove himself at this level.

Still, Buse has showcased the talent is there - he took a set off both Arthur Fils and Frances Tiafoe in Madrid and Rome over the last few weeks, but couldn't go on with the job.

The 22-year-old had to qualify for the Hamburg main draw this week, but he was untroubled, dropping no more than two games in a set with dominant victories over Niels Mcdonald and Hugo Gaston.