Superheroes normally go to work in satin pants and a cape. Marco Trungelliti chose a rented car, packed with tennis rackets and hopes, as well as his wife, brother, mother and 88-year-old grandmother for a 500‑mile trip that ended on Monday afternoon in Paris with a heart-warming win against Bernard Tomic.

True to the script of his career lassitude, “I’ve got millions” Bernie was later to Court No 9 than his opponent, who had driven for 10 hours from his home in Barcelona hoping to win some loose change as a lucky loser in the first round of the French Open.

After nearly three hours on court the Argentinian, ranked 190 in the world, walked away with the victory by 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 and €99,000, nearly trebling his season’s earnings. And he was worth every cent, blowing Tomic away with 16 aces and 68 clear winners.

Whatever happens now, he will cherish the moment. In 11 years striving on the tramlines, in singles and doubles from Alicante to Almaty and back, Trungelliti has averaged about $50,000 a year, before travelling and living expenses, in front of minuscule crowds. His pot here consists of half of the first-round money he had to split with Nick Kyrgios, as well as €79,000 for reaching the second round. He does not often earn that in one outing.

INSÓLITO MOMENTO EN #RolandGarros. 😨🙏



Marco #Trungelliti está viajando AHORA de Barcelona a París para jugar el draw como Lucky Loser. !Se bajaron 8 jugadores! DE LOCURAAA 🚗🚥🚨https://t.co/47TGzqNLfz pic.twitter.com/TMBDcBh0Hz — BATennis (@BATennisCom) May 27, 2018

It is a fairytale that might even linger past the second round. Trungelliti is good enough. Two years ago he put the world No 10, Marin Cilic, out in the first round on a rare visit to the main draw. On Wednesday he plays a kindred spirit in Marco Cecchinato, the world No 72 from Palermo, who spent three hours and 41 minutes beating the Romanian Marius Copil.

Wearing a smile that refused to dim, Trungelliti explained the details of his odyssey. “We were at home with my family. My brother [Andre] and my grandma [Daphne] and my mamma [Susana] came from Argentina a week ago. They were going to come to Paris but I lost – so I [went home].

“Then they rent a car to take a look at Barcelona and some other cities in Spain. We were preparing to go to the beach.

“My coach told me: ‘Take a look at Mohamed Safwat [the Egyptian late replacement who lost to Grigor Dimitrov on Sunday]. He’s playing right now. Ask if you are going to get in.’ So I ask and somebody told me that I was the first alternate [to replace Kyrgios against Tomic]. Actually my grandma was in the shower and I told her: ‘OK, we go to Paris.’

Marco Trungelliti’s 88-year-old grandmother Dafne Botta answers questions after his win. Photograph: Alessandra Tarantino/AP

“There were many flights cancelled, so I didn’t trust too much. There was no train now in France so the best option was always just take the car. For us in Argentina, if you’re not living in Buenos Aires, then thousand kilometres is like nothing.”

It was around 1pm when they left. Trungelliti had not even unpacked his kit from last week, when he was defeated in the qualifying tournament.

Instagram images of the Trungelliti family roaring through Spain at an average speed of 70mph became an instant hit. “But it was good, no? It’s beautiful.”

Within 10 hours they were at Roland Garros. Trungelliti says that after a light supper he got “five hours’ sleep, maximum” and was back at the club at 7.30am on Monday.

He said his grandmother, whom he calls Abuelita, “has no idea what tennis is, really. She has no idea how to count it.” He added: “Actually she told me that she didn’t know that it was the end of the match until everybody was clapping. She’s amazing. She turns 89 in one month.”

As for the future, he says: “Would be great to win, especially mentally for more than any other reasons. It doesn’t happen every day playing a second round in a grand slam.”

Daphne will probably not be there, though. As Trungelliti says: “She believes in God very strongly, so she always puts candles to all the saints and it’s very rare that she would be on the court. I hope she’s OK. Well, I wouldn’t want her to die of stress.”

Surrounded by Spanish-speaking journalists, he looked a little lost and said: “I never had a press conference with so many people. Not even when I played against Cilic two years ago.”

If he beats Cecchinato, the hero from Barcelona will get another chance to share his charming tale.