LONDON, June 22, 2019
2017 champion Feliciano Lopez has reached the final of the Fever-Tree Championships for the third time by defeating Canadian teenager Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-4 on Saturday afternoon at The Queen’s Club.
The 37-year-old Spanish wild card entry fired 15 aces, winning 80 per cent of his first service points to secure victory in two hours and 16 minutes.
AGE IS JUST A NUMBER!
37-year-old @feliciano_lopez becomes the oldest-ever #QueensTennis finalist after beating Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-7 6-3 6-4! pic.twitter.com/7Lj79bkdIS
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) 22. Juni 2019
“I’m so happy, I can’t believe I’m in the final here again. It’s crazy how we old guys can still perform well,” Lopez said.
“I feel very lucky to still be competitive at this stage of my career. I would never have imagined I could reach the final of Queen’s at 37 years old.”
Marathon man Simon advances
Lopez will take on French veteran Gilles Simon. The 34-year-old battled past No. 4 seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev, winning 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-3. Simon converted four of his eight break point opportunities to advance in two hours and 37 minutes.
The World No. 38 has spent a lot of time on court in London, playing the longest Queen’s match since records began when he beat Nicolas Mahut in the quarterfinals in three hours and 20 minutes on Friday.
“It was hard to recover for this one,” said Simon, who is aiming to become the first Frenchman to win the ATP 500 grass-court event in the Open Era.
“Daniil and I practise together and we knew it was going to be tough. It’s hard for me to hit through him, but when you play a match and you’re a bit tired, sometimes you relax and play great. I was feeling the ball great, even if I wasn’t feeling great in the legs.”
Lopez and Simon will meet for the eighth time with the Spaniard leading 5-2 in head-to-head records. Lopez also won all previous four matches on grass.
