Musetti defies the odds in Hamburg to win his first title

ATP 500 champion Lorenzo Musetti will never forget the emotions he felt when he lifted his maiden Tour-level trophy in Hamburg after overcoming disrupted preparations. Before the Hamburg European Open, Musetti had lost six of his six matches on the tour and arrived in the German port city without the rackets that had been packed in his case, according to Reuters.

He was able to arrange his playing gear well in advance of the tournament, however he suffered from food poisoning in the days leading up to the event. “I arrived here… with all the strikes, one of my luggage (bags) got lost. (It was) the one with the rackets, so I was a little concerned about how I would play,” Musetti told the ATP Tour after his victory. “The night before I played in the match, I threw up all night. I had food poisoning, so I felt slightly under the weather. I didn’t expect to go as far as I did, so I’m happy that my luck turned around at this tournament.”

When he faced Serbian Dusan Lajovic in the first round of the tournament, he was on the verge of his seventh straight loss. However, he saved two match points before winning the tournament for the first time since May. It was Musetti’s first championship final on Sunday, while his opponent Carlos Alcaraz, 19, had won all five Tour-level finals he had reached.

The Italian wasted five championship points in the second set but found the mental strength to down Alcaraz, who on Monday became the youngest player to break into the world’s top five since Rafa Nadal in 2005, 6-4 6-7(6) 6-4 in a thriller. “For me it’s a dream. Obviously, I always dreamed about winning a title and I didn’t have any chances before,” said Musetti, who rose to a career-high ranking of 31. “It’s the first time, so I have no words to describe how it feels. “The emotions I had today, I will keep it in my heart and my head for a long time.”