Luck of the French: Eight lucky losers make their way to the main draw

UPDATE: Trungelliti won his first-round match. From the Associated Press:

The road trip was worth it for Marco Trungelliti, the "lucky loser" who drove for about 9 hours with his brother, mother and grandmother from Barcelona to Paris in order to get into the French Open — and then won his match.

Trungelliti, a 28-year-old Argentine ranked 190th, lost in qualifying at Roland Garros and then headed home to Spain.

But when an eighth spot in the main draw opened up because of an injury withdrawal, Trungelliti raced back to France. He faced Bernard Tomic in the first round on Monday and emerged with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory in a match that lasted nearly 3 hours.

This was only the third tour-level match of the year for Trungelliti and the 16th of his career. He is now 4-3 in Grand Slam action.

PARIS—For most, the idea of a drive from Barcelona to Paris is likely a delicious leisurely experience, a 643-mile trek due north through two of the world’s most elegant countries, replete with tasty food, drink and perhaps a stop or even two alongside a country road.

But what’s recreational for many is strongly vocational for Marco Trungelliti. On Sunday, the 190th-ranked Argentine started his journey from Barcelona. Come Monday morning, he will sign in at the Roland Garros tournament desk as the last of a rather staggering eight men to have earned lucky loser spots into the 2018 men’s singles draw. For comparison’s sake, a year ago, there was just one lucky loser at the clay-court Slam.

How are lucky losers determined? Page 27 of the 2018 Official Grand Slam Rule Book states,

“Lucky losers are drawn from the 16 players who lost in the last round of qualifying. Lucky Losers are those players who have lost in the final round of the Qualifying competition or, if more Lucky Losers are required, those players who have lost in the previous qualifying rounds. Lucky Losers shall be selected based on the computer rankings used for the determination of qualifying seedings as follows: The order of the four (4) highest ranked players shall be randomly drawn, thereafter the order shall follow the players' rankings, unless there are more than two (2) main draw withdrawals at the time the Qualifying competition is finished in which case the size of the random draw will be the number of withdrawals plus two (2).

The Lucky Loser list will be posted each day at least one (1) hour prior to the sign-in deadline which will be one-half (1⁄2) hour before the first point is played in the first match. Such list shall not be available for sign-in on the preceding day.”

In other words, Trungelliiti needs to surface at Roland Garros by 10:30 a.m. Monday morning to claim his spot in the main draw—in this case, the spot vacated by Nick Kyrgios, who withdrew from the tournament early Sunday morning.

Trungelliti lost in the last round of qualifying to 189th-ranked Hubert Hurkacz, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. You can bet your last nickel this was one rough-and-tumble tennis match. As of this week, Hurkacz had earned $42,059 in 2018, Trungelliti $34,945. First-round losers at Roland Garros earn 40,000 Euros—just over $46,000.

In one sense, the plethora of lucky losers is a random occurrence, the result of various injuries. But in another, it’s a function of a rules change intended to blunt a certain form of odious pragmatism that has often marred the first round of Grand Slam tournaments. Consider those times when a player barely limps his or her way through an opener, or retires mid-way, simply to collect a sizable check.

Most of all, this commerce-motivated step is unfair to fans who have paid to watch world-class tennis.

But a major rule change that began this year has drastically altered the landscape. Now, players entered in the main draw who withdraw prior to their match will collect one-half of the first round compensation.  Those who take their place will receive the other half—still a rather tidy sum for such toilers like Trungelliti.

A last-minute switch in the day’s opponent can often prove quite disruptive for the player securely in the main draw. Tennis Channel analyst James Blake once learned 30 minutes prior to a match he was suddenly about to play someone he’d never seen, a circumstance that sent his coach scurrying all over the tournament to talk with other coaches and rustle up YouTube clips.

Then there’s also the second-life factor, an irrational but valid awareness that where once there was nothing, now there is opportunity.

“A guy like that might have nothing to lose,” said Blake.

VIDEO: Lucky loser Mohammed Safwt faces Grigor Dimitrov:

Then again, it’s hardly a methodical approach for the lucky loser. The picture of Trungelliti of driving across Europe is more something out of a madcap movie than the cocooned life we associate with professional athletes. And only at 10:00 a.m. this morning did 27-year-old Mohammed Safwat learn that, due to Viktor Troicki’s withdrawal, he had earned the chance to make his Grand Slam main-draw debut, in this case versus fourth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov on Court Philippe Chatrier.

Reflecting on dropping the first set 6-1, Safwat said, “I was trying to figure it out, what is—how the court. Is it fast or slow? For me, I felt it's different than the courts outside. I didn't know my right tension, so I was trying to switch racquets there and here. I was trying to figure out what I do.”

To his credit, Safwat composed himself and lost the next two sets by the closer scores of 6-4 and 7-6.

“It's not easy, I think, when those kind of things happen, you just need to be ready," said Dimitrov, who recalled playing Safwat in the juniors. "You kind of prepare yourself every day for different obstacles, whether it's weather, strings, balls, opponents. You just have to be ready.”

WATCH: Dimitrov discusses his unusual preparation for a lucky loser

Preparation now might also mean sticking around a tournament longer than usual. Just ask Prajnesh Gunneswaran, a player ranked ahead of Trungelliti who also lost in the qualifying—except Gunneswaran is now entered in a Challenger event in Vicenza, Italy. Total prize money for that event: 64,000 Euros.

As for Trungelliti, having taken the place of one Aussie in Kygrios, he will now take on another man from Down Under who made his way through the qualifying: Bernard Tomic, a player whose competitive temperament is so mercurial that in recent years he has come to define the meaning of wild card in a rather negative manner.

But never confuse a wild card like Tomic with a sturdy lucky loser like Trungelliti. Just to give you an idea of this man’s journey, by the end of January, Trungelliti had competed in Thailand, Australia and France.  Barcelona to Paris? Allez.

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