Feliciano Lopez matches Roger Federer's Masters 1000 record

The 39-year-old Feliciano Lopez is one of the oldest players left on the Tour, still ranked inside the top-100 thanks to his points from 2019.

The Spaniard is competing in Miami for the 18th time, becoming the second player with that many appearances at a single Masters 1000 event after Roger Federer. The Swiss competed in Indian Wells and Miami 18 times, and Lopez has joined him on the exclusive list. Feliciano made Miami debut in 2002, missing the notable Florida event only in 2013 and last year when it was canceled.

Read also

Rafael Nadal: 'Roger Federer is not my close friend, but we can talk about anything'

In his 30th match at the Miami Open, Lopez suffered a 6-4, 7-6 loss to Alexei Popyrin in the first round, serving for the second set but still ending on the losing side.

Popyrin needed an hour and 22 minutes to seal the deal, losing serve twice and converting all three break chances to move over the top and advance into the second round. The youngster opened a 4-1 advantage in the first set before the veteran pulled the break back to level the score at 4-4.

Read also

'What Rafael Nadal has achieved will never be repeated,' said David Ferrer

Returning at 5-4, Alexei grabbed a break at love to close the opener and gain momentum ahead of set number two. Nothing could separate them in the second set's opening ten games before Lopez earned a break in game 11 to serve for the set. The Aussie stayed calm and grabbed the break back to set up a tie break that he won 7-4 to seal the deal.