Nadal, who has a bye into the second round, will play the 39-year-old world number 64 after he saw off Filip Krajinovic from Serbia on Monday.
Lopez dispatched the Serb, ranked 30th in the world, 7-6, 6-1 at the AccorArena in Bercy, south-east Paris, to set up his first clash with Nadal for five years.
🥁 Your first #RolexParisMasters main draw winner of 2020 is….🥁
— ROLEX PARIS MASTERS (@RolexPMasters) November 2, 2020
The oldest player in the draw at 3️⃣9️⃣-years-young, @feliciano_lopez! He downs Krajinovic 7-6(11), 6-1. pic.twitter.com/q10CYayiI6
The veteran will have good memories of that meeting at the Cincinnati Masters. He served 14 aces as he came from a set down to beat his illustrious compatriot.
Nadal, 34, has won nine of their 13 encounters and will play his first match since claiming a record-extending 13th French Open title in October.
Restrictions
Then government-imposed coronavirus restrictions allowed only 1,000 spectators to witness his straight sets sweep past top seed Novak Djokovic on Court Philippe Chatrier.
As France moves further into a second lockdown to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, there will be no fans watching the seven days of competition in the main draw.
And for all his mastery of the clay courts at the Roland Garros stadium, Nadal has never won on the indoor hard court at Bercy in seven previous attempts.
“That's part of the game,” said the world number two on the eve of the competition. “In some places you have more success and others a little bit less.
“It’s true that at the end of the year in the past I arrived sometimes very tired physically and sometimes mentally, too.
"And at the same time on indoor courts I need to be fresh, I need to be in full condition. It’s probably the surface that I need to be playing better to try to have success.”
Of Nadal’s 86 titles only one - Madrid in 2005 - has come on an indoor hard court.
“I’m going to keep trying my best as I’ve done all my tennis career and I hope to give myself chances,” Nadal added.
