On Sunday, world no. 32 Feliciano Lopez took center court alongside respected peer Marin Cilic. If you had followed the week of the Aegon Queens’ Club Championships you already knew the match had the potential to be epic and it was.

For 2-hours and 30 minutes, the “out-ranked” Spaniard kept his cool and was rewarded with the 2017 singles title and a historic trophy that had eluded him for 16-years, 4-6 7-6(2) 7-6(8)

Lopez certainly had a stellar week but despite the loss, Cilic’s was noteworthy as well and has elevated himself to contender status at Wimbledon.

During the week, Cilic took out the following players in earlier rounds; John Isner [USA], Steve Kozlov [USA], Donald Young [USA] and finally, Gilles Muller who is having his own notable breakout season, winning his 1st ever ATP title after sixteen years of dedication.

In doubles, The Croat and teammate Marcin Matkowski sent the American team of Donald Young and Nicholas Monroe on their way followed by Marcus Daniell [NZL] and Marcelo Demoliner [BRA]. In the end, they fell to Britain’s Jamie Murray and his partner Bruno Soares [BRA] who would go on to win the Queens title.

To his credit, Cilic was potentially tasked with playing 3-matches on Final Sunday. He would face completing the semi-final against Murray-Soares, if he advanced then he would have played both the singles and doubles final - A herculean task. But it was not his day to be Zeus. Despite putting forth his best effort, he fell to Lopez and did not advance to the doubles final.

In press, he acknowledged the pain of losing such a close match yet he was reflective, congenial, and as upbeat as one can be in this circumstance.  After the standard mandatory presser, Cilic stayed giving additional press time and took photos.

Both Lopez and Cilic had high praise for each other during the post-match pressers. Cilic described the match in this way, “I was playing really well during all week, and today, as well.  I have to say the level of play was great on both sides.  Cilic continued, He was “serving I think really, really good.  It was quite difficult for me on the returns to find some openings.”

“I had big chance on first game of the second set. Had a break-point sitter that I missed long, and then after that, I was not creating as many chances as that small patch between the end of the first and beginning of the second set.”

“Overall, I have to say that I was playing definitely really, really good level.  Had a match point at the end.  He saved with a great volley.  And then we had a couple great rallies in the end of the tiebreak, so, you know, overall I have to say that if it would have gone also on my side or his side, you know, for both of us, we deserved a win.”

While Lopez revealed that while he knew he played well, he stated he was also a bit lucky (except for challenges). In his own words, “..,yeah, I played great, it's true, but I was also a little bit lucky, no?  Because they played also very good.  Marin played great today.  He was solid, consistent, serving huge.  He was moving so fast, anticipating a lot.”

“Yeah, it was very tough for me.  Yeah, you said I was playing great, I was beating them, but also you need a little bit of luck in that moments because you are playing a very unique surface where everything is so quick and the matches are very close.”

The Spaniard summarized the match in this way, “It was a very close match.  I mean, this is a match I expected, to be honest. Playing against Marin on grass, I knew it was going to be like this.  It's only two, three points at the end that makes the difference.”

“First set was a break that he played really well at 5-4. I got broken.  Then we went into the tiebreak second set.  I played really well there.  I played some great points.  I won the set.”

“And the third set was very equal.  I mean, I knew it was going to be another tiebreak.  Then it's one or two points, as I said before.”

“To be honest, when I lost the match points serving for the match, I thought then I'm not gonna make it again.  My thoughts were on that match in 2014 where I lost against Grigor.  And it was tough to handle the situation, no?  I was just trying to fight.  I couldn't do anything.  Those moments where you are so tight, you just fight, you try to put the ball in, that's it.  Try to serve like the best that you can do.”

“Serve there is so important.  He saved one match point with an ace.  After I lost the match point I serve another ace.  So, yeah, serve is pretty important there. So, yeah, it was about hanging in there.  Those moments you cannot do any better.”

In honor of Lopez’s performance, I can say this - Many in the crowd were saying he moves in “slow motion.” You can see on-court how deliberate he is at every moment and he never seems to rush. This calm nature is likely an asset supporting his exceptional service game. Alone, that weapon is extraordinary especially because he played a match loaded with high-pressure points. For the week, both Lopez and Cilic delivered 69 aces each.

Heading into the final, statistically, one number stood out between these two. Lopez saved 86% or 6 of 7 break points faced while Cilic 50%, 1 of 2. This may seem trivial but when matches are won when performing under intense pressure, it can make or break you.

Lopez did not win the most points on Sunday, (Lopez-97 and Cilic-105), but he won the most important points. Cilic won the battles but he lost the war because Lopez kept his composure, stood tall and kept fighting.   

With their final appearances at Queens, Lopez and Cilic appear to be peaking on the grass just in time for Wimbledon. The premier grass contest is set to begin next week. Yet, both were quick to point out the delicate nature of their sport. A victory quickly washes away at the next tournament and you begin again. If a player can be consistent and perhaps a bit lucky they might come out on top but a brief lapse of concentration at the wrong moment and it’s over. That’s tennis.

Many in the press proposed questions addressing how significant they will be at the All England Club, Wimbledon. In a show of humility, both declined to accept the compliment. But if these two experienced players can bring the same quality and intensity to SW19, the odds of success are high.

However, it’s tennis and we will just have to wait and see. For me, the depth of the ATP field in London will be the most competitive in several years. It is not often that players outside the top 4 are a topic of discussion. But this year, there are many stories of reasonable and realistic outcomes within the top 25 making for a compelling fortnight ahead.