Feliciano López gives the first point to Spain in Davis

The loss of Carlos Alcaraz has disrupted the plans of a Spanish team, which had no problem trusting the veteran Feliciano López to start their career in this Davis Cup with victory. In a dedicated Madrid Arena, the 40-year-old from Toledo beat Roberto Quiroz (6-3 and 6-3) to put Spain ahead in the tie against Ecuador. ‘Feli’, who has interspersed the ATP circuit and the Challenger this year and has only achieved nine victories at the highest level, took advantage of his seniority, the support of the public and a surface that benefits him, to dispatch a Quiroz that only got scared in the opening bars.

The Ecuadorian, number 291 in the world, started the game with three breaking balls in favor, all of them deactivated by the service of a Feliciano who finished with 14 direct aces. The fight of the first minutes was broken by the man from Toledo in the fourth game, breaking Quiroz’s serve and saving the fourth opportunity to break for the Ecuadorian in the next game.

With the 4-1 up, Feliciano caught cruising speed against a rival who has never won an ATP match indoors and who has barely two triumphs on concrete in his entire career. ‘Feli’ sealed the first set 6-3 and forgot his doubts when serving in the second.

They did not generate any breaking ball against him and he put the direct to avoid a scare in the opening day. By defeating Quiroz, Feliciano showed his perennial character in a competition that he has won five times and in which, although he came to play only the doubles, he has put his commitment on the table when the casualties have forced Sergi Bruguera to pull it.

It is the eighteenth victory for Feliciano in the competition, the seventh in singles, and the one that allows Spain to march towards a possible 3-0 against Ecuador that is presumed key if they want to qualify for the semifinals. The next to jump on the track would be Pablo Carreño, to face the Ecuadorian number one, Emilio Gómez.