Feliciano Lopez on difficult decision to retire: "I'm 41 years old and this is not going to be forever"

Feliciano Lopez was in Acapulco once more as the Spaniard is doing a mini farewell tour after announcing his retireming from tennis in 2023.

Lopez is not yet officially retired as he will play a few selected tournaments in 2023 before finally calling it quits. The Spaniard played many times in Acapulco and it was one of the events he wanted to be part of once more before calling it an end. The decision to retire was a tough one because tennis was an instrumental part of much of his life.

He explained:

"Since I decided this is going to be my last year on Tour, it's been a little bit difficult because it's something that you don't want to do, because I love what I do. I have a passion for tennis. Even though I know this is my last year, I wish I could continue playing and it's a little bit sad. But on the other hand, I have to do it because I'm 41 years old and this is not going to be forever; I understand."

He was able to break his losing streak in Acapulco beating Christopher Eubanks in round one. It was a nice feeling for him:

"It's been a while since I won my last ATP match. To be honest, I had this in mind because last year was difficult for me. I couldn't win any matches on Tour, even though I played only a few tournaments. But still it's something that I had in mind and it was kind of a relief moment when I finally won my match yesterday."