GOING THE DISTANCE

Smooth-stroking Feliciano Lopez is capitalizing on his endurance and talent.

By Sebastian del Marmol; Photography by Steve Shaw

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Nobody knows the grueling nature of tennis better than Feliciano López. The 28-year-old Spanish lefty has a knack for knocking tennis balls around in some of the most grueling, cramp-inducing, mind-warping matches in history—including a historic five-setter against Gilles Müller a couple years back that lasted four hours and 22 minutes, with a score of 16-14 in the last set. In fact, he is thought to have played in the most five-set matches that have gone beyond 6-6 in history.

Feliciano, who is featured in the new Montenegro Method DVD Series, knows better than most that what was once a gentlemanly sport where grace and subtlety abounded is now a banger’s paradise where only the fit survive and win. “Tennis is a very physical sport at the moment. Twenty or 30 years ago it was much more technical, but today players are much stronger and the sport is all about physicality,” he says.

Powerful groundstrokes and a big serve define Feliciano’s game. It’s no surprise then that he favors weight training and working with a medicine ball for core strength. He shuns long-distance running (not necessary in tennis) in favor of short sprint drills and plyometrics that give his muscles the fast-twitch workout needed for bursts of speed.

Feliciano admits that his nutrition habits are not always the best. In fact, he says that his friends chide him, saying that if he weren’t a professional athlete he wouldn’t be able to fit into tennis shorts. But he does make sure to load up on carbs before matches—he prefers pasta with no sauce. Luckily, his metabolism allows him to indulge on sweets when celebrating match wins.