Take a bow, Feliciano Lopez and Andreas Seppi.
Both veterans of the ATP Tour saw their incredible Grand Slam main-draw appearance streaks come to an end after bowing out in the first round of qualifying at Roland Garros.
Lopez had contested a record 79 consecutive major main draws in men’s singles dating back to 2002 Roland Garros. During that stretch, the Spaniard went 98-80 on the major stage, highlighted by three quarterfinal showings at Wimbledon and a final-eight effort at the 2015 US Open. On Tuesday, despite a No. 4 qualifying seed in Paris, Lopez fell to 166th-ranked Gian Marco Moroni, 6-1, 7-6 (4).
A day earlier, the 24th-seeded Seppi went down to fellow Italian Giulio Zeppieri, 6-3, 6-4. At this year’s Australian Open, Seppi surpassed Roger Federer for third on the men’s list with his 66th straight main draw, having begun his streak at 2005 Wimbledon. It was nearly 10 years ago when he held a two-set lead on Novak Djokovic in the round of 16 at the 2012 French Open, only to see the Serbian rally to win a classic in five.
With Federer expected to remain sidelined by the time Wimbledon rolls around, Lopez can still match the Swiss for the most total major main draws by a male player should he pursue qualifying at the grass-court Slam. Federer currently sits at 81, while Venus Williams owns the all-time record with 90 entries.