Spaniard Feliciano Lopez rejoined the winners’ circle for the first since October 2004 Sunday as he defeated first-time finalist Stephane Robert 7-5, 6-1 in the final of the SA Tennis Open in Johannesburg.
Lopez captured his second ATP World Tour title five and a half years on from triumphing at the Bank Austria TennisTrophy (d. Canas) in Vienna, enduring three runner-up finishes in between, most recently at the 2008 Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships (l. to Roddick).
“I hope that this title now will help me to have more confidence in my game, to believe more in myself, so I can get more titles in my career,” said Lopez, who will fly to Rotterdam tonight to contest the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, where he faces World No. 6 Nikolay Davydenko in the first round.
As winner of the ATP World Tour 250 hard-court tennis tournament, Lopez received 250 2010 ATP Ranking points and $75,700, while Robert earned 150 Ranking points and $39,780 in prize money.
