Roman Andres Burruchaga made waves at the Italian Open on Wednesday. The Argentine enjoyed a successful Masters 1000 debut after coming through qualifying, causing an upset as he earned the biggest win of his career over world No. 44 Lorenzo Sonego in straight sets.
While Burruchaga is a lesser-known name on the tennis circuit, his father, Jorge Burruchaga, needs little introduction. A former professional footballer, Jorge scored the winning goal in the 1986 World Cup final, when Argentina faced West Germany.
Although Diego Maradona was the poster boy of the 1986 World Cup, captaining Argentina to glory, it was Jorge Burruchaga who scored the winner in the final.
West Germany equalised to make it 2-2 in the 81st minute before Jorge cemented himself as an Argentine footballing icon. With an assist from Maradona, he scored in the 84th minute in front of more than 100,000 fans at the Estadio Azteca.
Jorge was also part of Argentina’s squad four years later, when they lost the 1990 World Cup final in a rematch against West Germany. They played the final just metres away from the Foro Italico – the home of the Italian Open.
Now, his son is enjoying a breakthrough week of his own in Rome. Burruchaga earned his best-ever win on Wednesday, upsetting Italian home favourite Sonego 6-2 6-3 in the first round.
The world No. 135 was making his first appearance in the main draw of a Masters 1000 tournament, and he earned his first win, booking his spot in round two.
Burruchaga breezed through the opening set and looked to be on his way to victory when he served for the match at 5-2 in the second. The nerves set in, and he was broken, but he broke again in the very next game to get the job done.
The 23-year-old only earned his first main-draw ATP Tour win last February, downing former top-10 star Diego Schwartzman in Cordoba, while his father watched on.
The World Cup winner drove more than 400 miles from Buenos Aires to Cordoba to watch Burruchaga win his first tour-level match.
At the time, the world No. 135 told the ATP: “He asked me if he can come to Cordoba to watch the match and I said, ‘Of course, you can come here, you are my dad!’”
Burruchaga also played football as a youngster, but had to choose between his two sports and went with tennis. And he believes his dad’s experience has helped him in his own career.
“It’s a positive thing having a dad who has been a pro footballer. He knows professional sport. He’s given me a lot of advice. He understands the problems too – the emotions, good moments, bad moments,” he said earlier in his career.
Now, Burruchaga has guaranteed himself 30 ranking points and £26k in prize money by reaching the second round in Rome. The 23-year-old will next face 23rd seed Karen Khachanov.