Feliciano Lopez might not the King of Grass, but he is a damn good play on this surface in best of 3 tournaments.
The Spaniard lost last week in the final at the Queen’s Club against Dimitrov and this week he has managed to defend his title in Eastbourne.
Feliciano was absolutely dominant in the first set to break Gasquet twice in the 3rd (2-1) and last game without conceding a single break point. (6-3). Richard bounced back in the second set to win at the breaker, but then he lost his serve in the 11th game of the third set to give the title to Feliciano.
Some Numbers
Richard Gaquet has lots to regret. He scored more points than Lopez (100-99) and he was able to convert just 1 break point out of 6. Feliciano was much more effective to convert 4 out of 6. Lopez took full advantage of his first serve to fire 14 aces (3 double faults) while Gasquet blasted 9 aces (2 double faults). Match Stats
This is Feliciano’s 4 career title, the first of this year. (view details)
From Lopez
“He beat me five times before, quite a lot. I have to be even a little bit more happy, because I knew Richard is going to be so tough to beat today. When a player beats you five times before, you don’t know what’s going to happen and how can you manage the situation to beat him for the first time. And I did. It’s a great feeling.
The way I play here is completely different from when I play on the other surfaces around the world. That’s really one of the most important things. Then my attitude was great. I was fighting. Even though I lost the second set, I was fighting all the time.”
Feliciano will now head to London where he is going to play against world n.147 Sugita in the opener.
