Feliciano López resurfaces against Rublev and gives Spain the first point against Russia

Not even the most enthusiastic fans that filled the Madrid Arena could dream of a similar reaction from

, who came out of the shadows in which

had plunged him

to give Spain the first point in the tie of the Finals of the Davis Cup against Russia. Nobody plays tennis like the man from Toledo still does, radical in his approach, with a plasticity and risk that are no longer common. In circumstances like these, it does not matter that his beard has grayed out and that he is listed much less on the circuit. At 40 years old, he can still indulge in some excess, such as the one starring against the number five in the world, which he beat 2-6, 6-3 and 6-4 in one hour and 45 minutes.

López, 106 in the ranks, responded to

confidence

and starred in a formidable comeback, which brought to mind performances such as the one in the Mar del Plata final in 2008 against Argentina, where he knocked down

and later completed success in doubles with

Amazing the transformative power of the Davis Cup. In a season of poor results, forced to play

tournaments

to sustain his ranking a bit, Feliciano resurfaces to bail out this Spain caught with pins by the succession of mishaps. His commitment to this tournament is unquestionable.

Rublev caught the initial set in the sigh, making useless the attempts of his rival, who could not lower the souffle of the exchanges with his backhand cut and did not even have the endorsement of the service, his best weapon.

Feliciano lost his serve for the second time with two double faults, but he did not stop throwing himself into the mountains, backed by a fans inflamed with the usual acoustics in this team tournament.

His only options were to change rhythms and not let Rublev settle on the baseline.

Champion at the beginning of the season in Rotterdam, indoors, and winner of eight ATP titles, the Russian number two has played the masters tournament for two years in a row.

Poor balance of Russian

He is, however, an unstable player, who already left a set against Quiroz on Saturday. Feli took her approach to extremes and began to live on the edge. He got up to three

from the second serve, due to the lack of regularity with the first, and managed to see the light with a break in the sixth game of the second set. He then saved three threats from the Russian and made the gap on the scoreboard good. Rublev could only convert two of his 12

balls

, a balance that weighed on his game.

In a trance, without giving his opponent any rhythm, Feli brought the break to fruition in the third game of the third set.

He would sweat to close the victory, because he did not hit the target in the first two opportunities he had, the rest, in the ninth game.

He even saved a ball that would have left him tied at 5-5 and finished in a big way, with the fourteenth

, a night that both he and fans of this game will always remember.

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