?Monsters and animals?: Lopez on route 66 with Slam record

LONDON: Feliciano Lopez set a new record for consecutive Grand Slam appearances on Tuesday when he started his 66th major in a row at Wimbledon, attributing the landmark to playing in an era of “monsters and animals”.The 36-year-old left-handed Spaniard had equalled Roger Federer’s mark at Roland Garros this year.On Tuesday, the 70th-ranked Lopez grabbed the record outright when he faced Federico Delbonis of Argentina at the All England Club before completing a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win.Lopez has not missed a Slam since making his debut at the 2001 French Open.“When I was about to break the record, I thought, wow, I’m going to beat Federer at something!” joked Lopez who has lost all 13 matches he has played against Federer in his career.Lopez admitted that playing at the same time as Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic had helped inspire him to keep going despite never making the semis of a Slam or breaking the world’s top 10.“The most important thing is to stay healthy and to be able to compete against these monsters, because for me I played in the past against monsters,” he said.

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