WATCH: Brown, Lopez light up UTS match in Nice, France

The shortfall of professional tennis play this year has been stark, since the COVID-19 pandemic took over both the global conversation and the global health care response.

Amidst all the personal perspective-building this time has allowed for many, the Ultimate Tennis Showdown has emerged as a carefully orchestrated way to put this socially distanced sport on display.

Within that showcase, enter Feliciano Lopez and Dustin Brown: patron saints of shot-making.

The two had faced off just once in ATP Tour action, four years ago this month at the Swiss Open. A No. 1–seeded Lopez took that encounter over Brown in three sets.

In this exhibition match, Brown topped Lopez by a 3-1 count. And in more ways than one, he was clearly pleased with the performance he posted.

Even so, it was hardly his first flashy foray of this UTS event. Far from it.

Of course, neither player would make it to the UTS event's semifinals, as Matteo Berrettini, David Goffin, Richard Gasquet, and Stefanos Tsitsipas rounded out that quartet. Until next time, racquet artists.