By Chris Oddo | Sunday June 24, 2017
On the run, darting to his left, Feliciano Lopez was in dire straits as he lunged for a Marin Cilic passing shot on Sunday in the Queen’s Club final. The Spaniard was down match point and he’d need to make a perfect shot to stay alive.
He did.
Lopez made a stunning stab volley to level the third set tiebreaker at six apiece, then converted his third match point to seize the title, 4-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(8).
Lopez also saved match point in the quarterfinals when he defeated Tomas Berdych, and on Sunday he improved to 9-1 this grass-court season and earned his 37th career Top 10 win.
The Spaniard, long a threat on grass and a two-time Eastbourne winner as well as a three-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist, has been on the other side of the emotional spectrum at Queen’s before. In 2014 he watched Grigor Dimitrov raise the trophy after saving a match point against him in the final. Today, in his 12th appearance in the main draw at Queen’s Club, he won his most prestigious title on the surface he loves the most.
Lopez improved to 72-37 lifetime on grass—only Roger Federer (157) and Andy Murray (102) have more wins on the surface among active players.
"It's tough to believe at 35 years old that I'm playing my best tennis, but yes I am," said Lopez during an emotional trophy ceremony. He graciously thanked the fans and the tournament’s organizers, telling them that it was an honor to play there and that the event was one of the best that the ATP has to offer.
Cilic had to rue his missed opportunity. He was not broken all afternoon and when he broke Lopez at love to claim the first set it looked like he might cruise to victory.
It still looked that way as the second set neared its conclusion, but Lopez played a near perfect tiebreaker to force a decider.
In the decider there was very little between the pair. Cilic dropped only eight points on serve and did not face a break point; Lopez dropped only six on serve and did not face a break point.
In the end it came down to seizing the moment, and on Sunday Lopez took his chances to win by the thinnest of margins.