Rafael Nadal falls to Horacio Zeballos in the title-round – VTR Open 2013
Former world number one, Rafael Nadal from Spain bowed out to the Argentinean star, Horacio Zeballos, in a three-set mouth-watering battle at the VTR Open 2013 on Sunday. He suffered a 7-6(2), 6-7(6), 4-6 loss against the unseeded Argentinean in the final showdown at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 Series event taking place in Vina del Mar, Chile.
Seeded top in this event, Nadal was making an epic comeback after ruling out for seven months since Wimbledon last season. He displayed tremendous skills in this tournament and cruised to the final round without losing a set. Despite losing this match, the Spaniard stayed on the right path of seeking his fitness and old form back.
The Spanish star commented in a post match press conference:
“It was a great tournament for me. If we take everything, it was positive. It's true I wanted to win the final but in wasn't possible. He made things better than me and I didn't play my best match. I just need to keep working, practicing with hope, motivation and the right attitude to have better sensations every week. I hope it's the beginning of a lot of good things for me.”
The world number five, Nadal assertively entered the Chilean clay court. He smoothly bagged his entire serves but failed to cash in any break opportunity. The set went to a tie-breaker where the Spaniard jumped to a 5-1 lead and eventually clicked the opener with a 7-6(2) win.
Ranked 73rd in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Zeballos re-focused in the proceeding set. He showed brilliant defensive skills to drag the set to another tie-breaker. The Argentine prevailed in it and eventually clinched the equaliser with a 7-6(6) score line.
In the final set, the left-handed Spaniard drew the first blood in the opening game and took the initial lead. However, he lost his edge in the very next game. In the 10th game, Nadal lost his serve again and subsequently suffered a 4-6 loss.
After stealing the show, Zeballos not only avenged his loss at the French Open three years ago but also levelled the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series by 1-1 against the top seed. The Argentinean also bagged his first ATP World Tour title of his career and gained 250 ranking points.
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