Andy Roddick eliminated by Feliciano Lopez in third round

In the depths of the Wimbledon press center, Ryan Harrison, a rising American teenager, was being asked after a loss to share the advice that his mentor Andy Roddick had been giving him about overcoming obstacles, controlling his emotions and making progress in the Darwinian world of the men’s tennis circuit.

But while Harrison talked in his baritone voice Friday about the future, Roddick was clearly in need of some help of his own on Centre Court.

He had beaten Feliciano Lopez, the flashy but streaky 29-year-old Spanish left-hander, seven times in seven previous attempts, but this was a different Lopez: still hitting huge serves but keeping the freebies to a minimum, still self-aware but newly self-confident on the big points.

Roddick's next assignment will be next month against Spain, and probably López again, in the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup in his home city of Austin, Texas. But López will now have to gather himself as he tries to equal his best-ever performance here, having reached the last eight in 2005 and 2008.

For now, though, the Spaniard said he was happy just to enjoy one of his best days. "I beat a couple of great players at Wimbledon in the last 10 years but to beat Andy on this court is very special, of course," he said. "I would say maybe the best. I was surprised that I didn't miss anything, almost. It's definitely a great win. I played solid all three sets. When you play Andy Roddick here, you never expect to win two straight tie-breaks against him so I'm really happy with my performance."

López is a popular figure on the tour, especially with his female fans, who include Andy Murray's mother Judy. Her nickname of "Deliciano" has taken hold on Twitter lately and López admitted he likes it. A little. "She's so funny," López said. "It's just something that everybody knows now because somebody posted it on Twitter. I have to like it. It's kind of funny. I mean, it's OK."