Lorenzo Musetti overcomes lost luggage, food poisoning and Carlos Alcaraz to realise title dream

His week in Hamburg got off to a nightmare start, but Lorenzo Musetti’s luck turned around in the most dramatic fashion as he ended up being the last man standing to win his maiden ATP Tour title.
The Italian flew to the German city expecting to go through qualifying, but his bag containing his rackets were lost en route.
However, Lady Luck soon started to smile down on him as he didn’t have to play in qualifying as a late withdrawal saw him bumped up into the main draw while he managed to pick up his rackets before yet more misfortune struck the 20-year-old.
“I arrived here on Thursday from Bastad and with all the strikes, one of my luggage [bags] got lost,” he told ATPTour.com. “[It was] the one with the rackets, so I was a little bit worried about how I would play, because I was still in qualifying. Then I got in [the main draw], so I managed to pick up the rackets.
“The night before the start of the matches, I threw up all night. I had food poisoning, so I felt a little bit sick. I didn’t expect to go as far as I went, so I’m happy that my luck turned around at this tournament.”
Musetti beat Emil Ruusuvuori, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Francisco Cerundolo – all higher than him in the ATP Rankings – to secure a place in the final against Carlos Alcaraz.
His win over Cerundolo, in particular, had plenty of drama after he had a match point saved after opting to serve underarm, but he nevertheless made it to the final.
WATCH: Lorenzo Musetti tries an underarm serve on match point – and it backfires horribly
Alcaraz was the hot favourite having won four titles this year, but the 20-year-old Musetti secured a 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 6-4 win to capture his first singles title.
“For me it’s a dream. Obviously I always dreamed about winning a title and I didn’t have any chances before,” the Italian, who is up to No 62 in the rankings, said.
“I think my best result was a semi-final, so I never had the opportunity to play a final. I’m really happy with this week. I think we did an amazing job and now we will celebrate and enjoy it for the next days, but we have to focus on Umag and the rest of the year.”
Latest
-
WTA Tour
Heather Watson ends her quarter-final drought with win in Thailand – ‘It was just survival of the fittest’
Heather Watson will now face Chinese seventh seed Xinyu Wang.
-
Tennis News
Toni Nadal shares thoughts on fans’ hostility toward Novak Djokovic as well as Rafael Nadal’s future
Toni Nadal on why Novak Djokovic has so many detractors.
-
Tennis News
Stunning LTA numbers confirm tennis participation is booming in Britain
New figures have revealed that there has been a 47 per-cent increase in tennis participation in clubs and parks across Britain.
-
WTA Tour
Aryna Sabalenka’s 2023 tennis schedule: Where is she competing next and her season so far…
A look at Aryna Sabalenka’s possible tournaments for the 2023 season.
-
News
Serena Williams welcomes Tom Brady to ‘retirement world again’ as she opens up about her final match ‘regret’
“Sad to see you go,” Serena Williams told Tom Brady.
-
Tennis News
Elina Svitolina urges IOC to ‘stick to banning Russian and Belarusian athletes’ for Paris 2024 Olympics
Elina Svitolina wants a united front when it comes to sanctions imposed against Russia and Belarus.
-
Tennis News
Marion Bartoli latest to criticise Elena Rybakina’s coach Stefano Vukov – ‘I just can’t take that any more’
Marion Bartoli basing her opinion on Elena Rybakina’s coach Stefano Vukov on incidents she witnessed herself.
-
Australian Open
Australian Open viewing figures need context amid Novak Djokovic snipes
TV viewing figures for Australian Open may appear to be disappointing, yet raw figures only reveal part of the story.
-
Tennis News
Nick Kyrgios on crutches as his manager gives fitness update
Everyone is “really, really pleased” with Nick Kyrgios’ recovery.
-
WTA Tour
Iga Swiatek’s 2023 tennis schedule: Where is she competing next and her season so far…
A look at Iga Swiatek’s possible tournaments for the 2023 season.