Before Carlos Alcaraz burst onto the Rafael Nadal court, a range of tennis personalities paraded across the stage. Early in the morning, Fernando Verdasco (39) fell to Francesco Passaro by a double 6-1.
And at noon, illustrious people from another time such as Albert Costa, Tommy Robredo or David Ferrer appear at the center to witness the goodbye of Feliciano López (41).
The Toledo left-hander, a man with 22 appearances in the RCTB, more than anyone in the history of the tournament, ends up compromising against David Goffin, 7-6 (3), 6-7 (4) and 6-0.
And at his farewell, he talks to the press.
-In the end I could not with my soul. And it was a shame because in the second set I came to believe that I could win -says Feliciano López.
-And what is it that withdraws you?
-The physical, precisely. Last year it had started crookedly for me and I already realized that this was over. And for that reason, at the end of 2022 I announced that this was going to be my last year. And I feel lucky because I have had time to prepare my retirement without getting injured. This year I have already played a tournament (he lost in the second round in Acapulco against Frances Tiafoe), and it has not gone badly for me.
-And how much do you have left?
-I've been preparing to be competitive for four or five more games and I think I'm going to get it.
-And so far, he has enjoyed 22 appearances in Barcelona -he is told.
-How to forget it? He came to Barcelona when he was 14 years old. He was a child and he trained me among the older ones and he looked at them and said: 'I want to be one of them, I want to play in Godó'. And you see, at the age of 16 I made my debut in the small draw and I made it to the big draw and then Jiri Novak came and took me down from the cloud. And still, this far I have come.
In this last year, weighed down by the lack of matches, Feliciano López is the 593rd tennis player in the world.
