For full match report, please click here: Zeballos vs Nadal As It Happened
Horacio Zeballos upset Rafael Nadal to win his first ATP Tour title, beating the Spaniard 6-7 (2) 7-6 (6) 6-4 in today’s final in Vina del Mar.
The Argentine played the tennis of his life, with his serve and forehand helping him massively on the way to this superb victory.
Both players held serve until the start of the third set, which is quite remarkable achievement on the clay court. Nadal was the first player to strike as he took Zeballos’ serve in the opening game of the decider just before dropping his own, with the Argentine levelling the score at 1-1. Zeballos, world no.73, earned himself another break point in the 8th game as he produced a stunning drop shot just for Rafa to save it after probably the best rally of the match. However, the Argentine played two absolutely outstanding games at 4-4. Firstly, he held his serve to love and then managed to take Rafa’s to love with some mesmerizing tennis, subsequently falling onto his back in celebration, with tear flowing from his eyes. What a victory!
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