Koolhof/Skupski Oust Alcaraz/Lopez In Lopez's Final Match
Spanish doubles star Marc Lopez played the final match of his storied career on Wednesday in front of his home fans at the Caja Magica.
Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski, who lead the ATP Doubles Team Rankings, defeated Lopez and countryman Carlos Alcaraz 6-3, 3-6, 10-7 to reach the quarter-finals of the Mutua Madrid Open. The Dutch-British tandem is 25-7 on the season and chasing a fourth title of 2022.
Photo Credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour
Koolhof and Skupski will next play Tomislav Brkic and Nikola Cacic, who upset fourth seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut 4-6, 7-6(3), 10-6.
Lopez finishes his career with 14 tour-level doubles titles and a 310-245 record. The 39-year-old earlier this year became a member of close friend Rafal Nadal's coaching team. Nadal had high praise for Lopez on Wednesday.
"We know Marc has a unique talent. This is a reality, and he has worked for it," Nadal said. "All the merit to him, all the merit to what has happened to him for different reasons. First of all because he's a very good person, above anything else.
"It's always good that good things happen to good people. He's a good person. In that regard, I think that he has achieved things that no other people had achieved in doubles in this country."
In other doubles action, Miami champions Hubert Hurkacz and John Isner ousted fellow singles stars Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-4. They will next face top seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury or two-time Roland Garros titlists Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies.
Jamie Murray and Michael Venus also advanced to the last eight with a 6-4, 6-3 victory against Cameron Norrie and Tommy Paul. Murray typically partners Bruno Soares and Venus plays alongside Tim Puetz.