The 40-year-old gave defending champion Spain an early 1-0 lead over Ecuador in Group A of the Davis Cup Finals with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Roberto Quiroz in Madrid.
No Rafael Nadal. No Carlos Alcaraz. No problem for defending champion Spain so far at the Davis Cup Finals.
Forty-year-old Feliciano Lopez gave Spain an early 1-0 lead over Ecuador in Group A with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Roberto Quiroz at home in Madrid.
Lopez was thrust into singles action when Alcaraz, the Next Gen ATP Finals champion, tested positive for the coronavirus and was dropped from Spain's squad on Thursday. Nadal isn't playing because of a left-foot injury that ended his season early.
With 19th-ranked Roberto Bautista Agut having also left Spain's team earlier this week because of an abdominal injury, the opening match was handed to Lopez.
Lopez was also slated to play doubles later with Marcel Granollers against Gonzalo Escobar and Diego Hidalgo.
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Lopez, who was once ranked as high as No. 12, has fallen outside the top 100 in both singles and doubles. His career has gone on for so long that he has already started his post-playing career, having been named the Madrid Open tournament director.
"I still have the passion for the game. This is obvious," Lopez said. "I've been waiting for an opportunity like this. I didn't expect to be playing but many things happened this week. … I ended up playing a great match."
