BARCELONA, 31 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish tennis player Feliciano López, who is retiring this season, will play one last Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell to say goodbye to the tournament organized by his club, the RCTB-1899, with an absolute record of 22 participations.
“The Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell granted the first wild card this year to Feliciano López, so that he can play the tournament for the last time. The player from Toledo is making his last tour as a professional tennis player and Barcelona will be a very special farewell for him. In this tournament he debuted as a professional at the age of 16 and in this same place he will say goodbye at the age of 41, after 22 editions played,” the tournament announced.
‘Feli’ was very grateful for the invitation. “Barcelona is where my sporting life began and this city will always occupy a special place in my heart. Being able to say goodbye in this tournament is the end of my career that I always dreamed of. I left home very young, at 13 years old, and I have spent many beautiful moments in this city”, he recalled.
David Ferrer, sports director of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, traveled to the player’s residence in Madrid to personally inform him of the invitation. “David is a special person in the world of tennis, there are few players as loved and respected as him,” said Feliciano López.
“In Barcelona they can be calm and satisfied with the choice they made in their day. There cannot be a better ambassador for the tournament and I am especially excited that he is directing Barcelona and I am Madrid at this moment in our lives. We are following parallel paths”, explained Feliciano López, director of the Mutua Madrid Open.
Feliciano López and Marc López won the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell in doubles in 2018. “It was one of the most beautiful moments of my career. Back then, I was on the verge of winning the title with Rafa (they lost in the final) and it was a tournament that I had yet to win. I played it with Marc, who, being also from the club, was very excited to win it and it was a week that I will remember for the rest of my life”, he assured.
The man from Toledo announced that this 2023 season would be the last of his career and he was clear that Barcelona could not miss his farewell. It will be his 22nd appearance at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, after his first tournament was in 1998, when he was 16 years old.