Close to 18 summers since, the 34 year-old Spaniard, who touched his career-best ranking of No 12 this year, may not have any Slams to his name but his beautiful serve and volley game is a whiff of fresh air from the robotic, power-hitting that has come to define the sport today.
"It's been quite a long career and I've no regrets. Considering my results so far, I feel the good things come when just you're ready," says Lopez, putting things into perspective.
Deep blue eyes, chiselled jaw, mop of dark curls and near-messiah looks almost transfix you to think that he belongs to the billboard. You couldn't blame Judy Murray for being driven to dub him 'Deliciano' afterall. Unlike most of his compatriots who would give anything to slug it out from the back of a dusty clay court, the No 17-ranked player admits he was 'born to play on grass.' The homogenization of surfaces, though, does worry him a bit.
"The courts have grown slower and slower over the past decade or so and surfaces are largely similar. I think it will be good for the sport if the ATP does things a little differently and makes every surface unique. That way you'd get to see all kind of players - aggressive ones, baseliners - a bit of everything. I'm not saying the courts have to be very fast, they just have to be different."
Throwing his weight behind compatriot Nadal, Lopez wagers that the 14-time Grand Slam champ 'will be back stronger' next season. "With the top three guys, especially Novak (Djokovic), playing the way they are now, next season is going to be a challenge for Rafa. But he has shown what comebacks are all about earlier, and will do it this time as well." Lopez, who featured in Chennai Open's last edition, will be heading to Doha, which has Novak and Rafa in its field, for the season opener.
Gone are the days when freckled, wonderstruck teens could walk away with Slams. So what makes the top league impenetrable? "The top four guys are almost unbeatable so if the young players have to get higher they would have to win against them first. Novak, I would say, has taken tennis to a level that we did not know exists. Also, I think the level of the game has grown considerably. You can play against those ranked in the 80s or 90s and still lose."
Having been a part of four Davis Cup titles for Spain, Lopez feels it's time for the next rung of players to take charge instead of waiting around for the seniors. "I think our generation - be it me, Rafa, Fernando (Verdasco) or David (Ferrer) - has been playing Davis Cup for almost ten years in a row and have been very successful. I think we have close to a dozen players in the top 100 and we are good enough to be in the World Group. The other players haven't played Davis Cup because a few of us have always been shouldering the responsibility but it's now time for them to be more involved."
Almost ruling out chances of Nadal possibly opting for a 'super coach', he adds, "In tennis, you can hire the best coach in the world and still fare miserably. It's a lot about the understanding and the trust. I feel (Boris) Becker, (Stefan) Edberg and Michael (Chang) have been phenomenal in their respective roles and it shows in the players. I see Roger, for example, trying different maybe little things, but put together they do matter a lot. I feel he has grown a lot more aggressive lately than he was earlier. It's also no coincidence that Novak has been playing the best tennis of his life in the last few years. Rafa has a close-knit team who have been with for a while now and he has full faith in them to help him get back to his best."
