Feliciano Lopez will miss a Grand Slam for the first time since 2002. Photo: AFP
Veteran tennis player Feliciano López ended his series of 79 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments, a historic record, by falling on Tuesday in the first round of Roland Garros ’qualifying phase against Italian Gian Marco Moroni 6- 1 and 7 -6 (4).
This is the first time the 40-year-old Spanish tennis player has not appeared on the final table of a major since he made it in 2002 at Roland Garros.
López has not missed the black series he has chained this season, in which he has not won any of the nine games he has played this season.
Ranked 111th in the world rankings after his defeat in the first round of the ATP 250 in Barcelona, he came with very little preparation after performing his job as tournament director of the Masters 1,000 in Madrid. As a result, he was forced to go through the qualifying phase in Paris to chain his 80th consecutive major.
King Felipe watches the Nadal-Alcaraz duel with Feliciano López, who served as director of the Masters 1000 in Madrid. Photo: EFE
Since he participated in Wimbledon in 2018, López has been the tennis player with the most consecutive participation in Grand Slam tournaments, ahead of Swiss Roger Federer, with 66, a series he has extended to date.
On the London lawn itself he achieved his best results, the quarterfinals he played in 2005, 2008 and 2011, the same round in which he fell at the 2015 US Open.
Lopez also holds the record for most appearances in Masters 1,000 tournaments.
Source: EFE
Source: Clarin
