"I guess today was not my day" - Musetti's unlucky day topped by retirement from exhibition match against Zverev due to hip injury

There was worrying signs for Lorenzo Musetti after he decided to retire in an exhibition clash against Alexander Zverev just after losing the first set 7-6 (7), with the Australian Open just around the corner.

The pair were competing at Melbourne Park in an exhibition match as a part of Australian Open Fan Week, with the crowd packing out the stadium excited to watch two of the best players on the ATP Tour battle it out.

It was a chance for both Musetti and Zverev to get some more competitive tennis into their legs against a world class opponent, much needed preparation for the major tournament. However, it may have taken a negative turn for the Italian, who will be hoping that the injury is nothing serious.

It was an exhilarating first set, with both players going for it as they looked to get the better of one another. It was Zverev who blinked first, breaking to make it 3-2 after Musetti missed the chance to keep it on serve.

The Italian blamed this on the jet lag. "It's pretty bad at the moment," he said while changing ends. "I arrived this morning with the delay of the flight, and all of a sudden my physio is already in the hospital. He's not feeling well, so didn't start the day well but hopefully we will finish better."

Musetti tried to get the break back but Zverev was firm on his serve. That was until the world number three attempted to serve the set out. He was unable to do this, with Musetti sticking around for now after making it 5-4.

The set went all the way to an exhilarating tiebreak, which was closely contested by the pair. It was Zverev who came out a narrow winner 97, but they would be the final points played as Musetti got treatment by his chair for a hip injury. In the end, he was not up to taking any risks, handing Zverev the win while calling a day to the exhibition clash in an unfortunate manner.

Ironically, Musetti could have done with his physio, but that on top of a number of things that day just did not go his way. "I hope today would have been better from start to finish," he admitted after the match. "I guess today was not my day. I'm really sorry guys. I wish I could continue but I don't want to risk too much for the real matches. Hope you appreciate the set we played."

There was no hesitation in the mind of Musetti to retire from the match. The newly crowned world number five recently came over from Hong Kong after reaching the final of the Hong Kong Open. Unfortunately, it was another final defeat to the inform Alexander Bublik, but it did see him debut in the top five which is a slight consolation.

The Australian Open is where the big bucks are won, and he will be hoping to stick around in Melbourne for some time as he looks to continue his ascent up the rankings with a deep run without any injury troubles. He has never had the best of form in the Australian Open. His best result came last year with a third round exit. Before hand he only won just a single main draw matchup in three attempts. The two-time major semi-finalist will be hoping to covert his prior successes into the upcoming Grand Slam, which will kick off from January 18 - February 1.