Lucky loser Cecchinato claims maiden title

Italy’s Marco Cecchinato claimed his maiden ATP title yesterday at the Hungarian Open, just seven days after he was packing his bags to leave Budapest having been knocked out in the qualifying rounds.The 25-year-old Italian, who was handed a last-minute place in the main draw as a ‘lucky loser’ after an injury withdrawal, made the most of his reprieve by seeing off Australia’s John Millman 7-5, 6-4 in the final.“I lost Sunday and now I won the tournament. It’s amazing for me,” world number 92 Cecchinato told atpworldtour.com.Millman had advanced to his maiden final earlier Sunday by beating 2017 runner-up Aljaz Bedene 2-6, 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/5) in a semi-final suspended due to darkness on Saturday with the pair locked at a set apiece.