LONDON: The dream has turned into a reality for Spain’s Feliciano Lopez after he outlasted Marin Cilic 4-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(8), in a two-and-a-half thriller to clinch his maiden title at The Queen’s Club in London.
Sunday’s triumph was a fairytale come true for the 35-year-old. He recently spoke about his love for the tournament and how he dreamt of lifting the trophy as a small child.
“When I was younger, I was watching Queen’s all the time, and it’s one of those tournaments that you always want to play.” Lopez said yesterday.
During what was a clash of the tennis titans, both men displayed the superiority of their service skills. 41 aces occurred throughout the match (22 for Cilic and 19 for Lopez) as both men won more than three quarters of their first service points.
It initially seemed as if the title would be going in Cilic’s direction after the way the first set ended. With Lopez serving 4-5 down, two consecutive forehand errors elevated the Croat to the 6-4 lead. Still, the Spaniard remained defiant in front of the London crowd, who cheered him on as if he was one of their own players. Serving to stay in the match at 5-6 in the second set. A massive cheer erupted after Lopez took the proceedings into a tiebreaker. The cheers were what guided Lopez to seal the tiebreaker with ease against a faltering Cilic.
With 500 ATP points and 395,690 euros at stake, the decider stunned and amazed all. Neither player refused to budge, prompting what turned out to be one of the greatest tiebreakers ever witnessed at the tournament.
Overcoming a time violation, Cilic was the first to earn a championship point in the tiebreaker with an ace. The opportunity was quickly quashed by a masterful Lopez volley at the net. Two points later it was Lopez’s turn to have a championship point, before being denied by an Cilic ace. Nevertheless, the title was written in the stars for Lopez. Leading 9-8, a forehand error from the fourth seed secured him his first Queen’s title on his 12th attempt.
“I can not believe that I have finally won this trophy. I have been waiting for so long, 15 or 16 years to be here holding this trophy.” A delighted Lopez said during his post-match interview.
“I thought by the end of the tiebreak after losing a match point I was not going to be able to make it. I was a little bit lucky at the end today.”
Fulfilling one of his childhood dreams, Lopez has now won 72 matches on the grass. It is the third highest total for an active player after Andy Murray (102) and Roger Federer (156).
