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MADRID, SPAIN – NOVEMBER 23: Rafael Nadal of Spain and Feliciano Lopez of Spain celebrate after winning the first set in their semi-final doubles match against Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski of Great Britain during Day 6 of the 2019 Davis Cup at La Caja Magica on November 23, 2019 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images for LTA)
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MADRID, SPAIN – NOVEMBER 23: Rafael Nadal of Spain and Feliciano Lopez of Spain celebrate after winning the first set in their semi-final doubles match against Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski of Great Britain during Day 6 of the 2019 Davis Cup at La Caja Magica on November 23, 2019 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images for LTA)
Roger Federer has been playing professional tennis for more than two decades now. As a result, he has become an icon of the sport and is the face of many big brands today.
Despite achieving many laurels in his career, there is a record in tennis that he will not be able to match now. Interestingly, it will be highly unlikely even for both his arch-rivals, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, to accomplish this feat.
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Feliciano Lopez surpasses Roger Federer in an incredible stat
40-year-old Feliciano Lopez will play his 139th ATP Masters 1000 tournament when he’ll step onto the court in Indian Wells. Intriguingly, he will break Federer’s record of playing the most Masters tournaments (138).
Another one for Feliciano Lopez 👏
After surpassing 500 ATP Tour wins and holding the records for the most consecutive Grand Slam appearances. He will set another record in the sport by having competed in 139 ATP Masters 1000 events, more than any other player.— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 7, 2021
“I honestly didn’t know. I knew that I’d played a lot of tournaments, but I had no idea I was about to break the record here at Indian Wells,” said Lopez in an interview to atptour.com before the Indian Wells Masters 2021.
Federer hasn’t played a Masters event for about two years now and there are very few chances of him playing a Masters again in the future, given his struggles with injury. On the other hand, while Nadal has played 123 Masters to date, Djokovic has featured in just 118.
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Some other commendable records of Feliciano Lopez
Lopez recently completed 500 ATP Tour wins in a career spanning over 24 years. Thus, he is only one of the few tennis players to accomplish this feat.
Reuters
Tennis – ATP 500 – Queen’s Club Championships – Queen’s Club, London, Britain – June 17, 2021. Spain’s Feliciano Lopez =in action during his second round match against Canada’s Denis Shapovalov Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs
The Spaniard also holds the record for the most consecutive Grand Slam appearances. As of the US Open 2021, he has played 78 back-to-back Grand Slams, indicating his strong physique. Besides this, he has never missed the French Open in the last 21 years- which is also a record.
Even though Feliciano Lopez will play his 139th Masters tournament at the Indian Wells Masters 2021, he is yet to win a Masters event in his career. Will he be able to end the jinx and conquer Indian Wells this year?
