Respect, and nothing but. That’s the prevailing sentiment after Spain’s Feliciano Lopez took the court today to begin his 66th consecutive Grand Slam, setting a new record for ATP tennis, as he passed Roger Federer on the ATP's all-time list in that category.

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That he won makes the occasion even sweeter for Lopez, a 36-year-old hard-serving southpaw who has mastered the art of getting better with age like many of his contemporaries on the ATP tour.

And speaking of getting better, the run of 66 consecutive Grand Slams played is so good that not even Roger Federer can match it.

“When I was [thinking] about breaking the record, I thought, wow, I'm going to beat Federer at something, which is a lot already,” Lopez said after his 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Federico Delbonis.



The Spaniard made some jokes, but he also talked seriously about the significance of a remarkable achievement. For more than 16 years he has not only been healthy enough to compete at every major, he has also kept his ranking in good enough standing to qualify for all of them.

There’s a reason nobody else has a streak as long, not even the great Federer.

66, not out...

Congratulations, @feliciano_lopez 👏#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/anfpIQ3QsC

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 3, 2018