Lucky Loser in Betting. Who Is He?
A lucky loser is yet another sport jargon. The term is English in origin and literally translates to "happy loser." Initially, it was applied in tennis, but in recent times, it is applied in other sports too. For the novice to adjust to such a term, possessing an easy-to-converse guide may ensure that it becomes so much more convenient to keep up with sport talks.
Who is a lucky loser?
A "lucky loser" in tennis is a participant who loses in the final round of a qualifying tournament but still makes it to the main draw. This is made possible by the withdrawal of a qualified player from the event. The withdrawal may be as a result of a number of reasons:
- The player withdraws for personal reasons (illness, family conflicts, etc.)
- The player is found with doping substances
- The player sustains an injury
When a top draw player withdraws from the tournament before the first round, organizers themselves replace one of the losing qualifiers. It is done to keep the format of the competition intact.
It would be incorrect to believe that lucky losers are simply "easy targets." At times, such participants who advance to the main draw randomly even find themselves in prize-winning positions or claim the victory of the tournament itself. Although this does not occur frequently, such tales are legendary in the world of tennis.
These experts attribute this generally to motivation. Athletes start believing in their "lucky chance," play more openly, and occasionally manage to outplay even superior players. While class and technique do a great deal in tennis, psychology and confidence can also decide the game.
Examples of lucky losers in tennis
As mentioned, the phrase has been around for a very long time, and there are many instances. One of the more bizarre ones is Lorenzo Sonego. The Italian lost to Aljaz Bedene in the qualifying phase of the Vienna tournament. However, he was given a spot in the main draw as a lucky loser.
Sonego's tournament run was amazing. He kept winning matches and reached the quarterfinals, where he played Novak Djokovic, who was world No. 1 at that time. Practically everybody expected Djokovic's comfortable win. But the favorite lost in spectacular fashion. Sonego took the first set 6–2, and in the second, Djokovic won a single game before losing 6–1.
Thus, a lucky loser defeated the world number one. This only occurred five times in the history of tennis. Sonego later said that it was the best game of his life. He proceeded to make it to the final, where he lost to Andrey Rublev, 4–6, 4–6, in a closely contested match.
Lucky losers in skiing and other sports
There also exists the phrase "lucky loser" in cross-country skiing, but not as frequently used. It only covers sprint races. The top two of both quarterfinals and semifinals immediately qualify for the next round. The rest are occupied by the quickest skiers across all heats. They are referred to as lucky losers.
Judges don't care which race a skier competed in, but how much time they had. There can be more than one lucky loser from the same race. Critics object to the system because weather conditions could quite readily determine results, but the rules don't accommodate for this at present.
The idea might even be extrapolated to include national teams. For example, in the 1992 European Championship, Denmark finished second in their group after Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia was disqualified since war erupted there. Denmark was able to compete instead—and won the championship.
