Feliciano Reaps The Rewards For His Sacrifice In Melbourne
Feliciano Lopez made a last-minute decision to travel to Melbourne to play in the Australian Open. The arrival of his first son, Darío, presented the Spaniard with a dilemma: stay at home with his family or pack his bags to play in his 75th consecutive Grand Slam, an astonishing testament to his longevity.
Having chosen the latter, the Spaniard boarded a plane a few days after becoming a father for the first time, preparing to separate himself from his loved ones for some time. (Players were obliged to self-isolate on arrival in Melbourne as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.) On Thursday, Lopez knew that his sacrifice was worth it when, at 39 years old, he came back to beat Lorenzo Sonego 5-7, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 to reach the third round of the season’s first Grand Slam.
“It was very hard for me to leave my family at home,” admitted the No. 65 in the FedEx ATP Rankings after his win, which he celebrated by covering his face with his towel to hide his tears. “I was kind of emotional about the whole situation in general. Because of the gift life has given me of being able to be in the third round of a Grand Slam at my age. You have to try and make the most of it,” he explained. “I wasn’t expecting to come back in a match like today’s, playing at this level and staying alive. Even though it may not seem important being in the third round of a Grand Slam, in my specific case it’s something I value greatly.
“Until the last minute I wasn’t sure if I’d come or not,” recognised Lopez, who became a father on 4 January. “On the one hand, I felt like it was an effort I should make,” he continued. “At almost 40 years of age, I wouldn’t consider coming here in the current situation, if it weren’t for tournaments like this that give me the desire to train every day. That’s what keeps me excited. These tournaments are much more important than they were.”
After losing the first two sets of his clash with Sonego, the Spaniard, who has been the director of the Mutua Madrid Open since 2019, lifted his game to produce a spectacular comeback. The result means, for the sixth time in his long career, Lopez overhauled a 0-2 deficit to win a match. Possibly, this was the most special of them all.
“These tournaments give me the extra motivation and desire I need to keep training every day,” said the Spaniard. “Coming back from 0-2 in a Grand Slam is something very special for me at this time,” continued Lopez, who has a clear plan for his future on the ATP Tour. “My idea is to live in the moment. If I continue to play at this level, and finish the year with a good ranking, I’ll play in 2022. I have to make the most of this gift that tennis is giving me.”
Lopez now faces a tough challenge: In his first third-round match at a Grand Slam since the 2019 US Open and his first at the Australian Open since 2016, he will meet Andrey Rublev, currently one of the most in-form players in the world.