Horacio Zeballos
Horacio Zeballos Jr. is a professional tennis player from Argentina on the men's circuit. His career-high singles ranking is world no. 39. His highest doubles ranking to date has been world no. 3 in September 2019. He has played most of his tennis in Challenger events. He qualified for the US Open and defeated Michael Berrer in the first round for his first win at Grand Slam level, and then lost to Tomáš Berdych in four sets in the second round.
He reached the final in the St. Petersburg Open in Russia, losing to Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky. He also reached the doubles final at the Movistar Open in Santiago, Chile in 2010 with partner Potito Starace. They lost to top seeds Łukasz Kubot and Oliver Marach. He won the title in doubles at the Copa Telmex with Sebastián Prieto. Zeballos won the 2009 ATP Newcomer of the Year award on 17 February 2010.
Zeballos won his first pro title in 2013 at the VTR Open in Chile on 10 February. In the final, he beat Rafael Nadal, becoming one of only four players to beat Nadal in a clay-court final.
Personal life
Zeballos is an Argentine of Spanish descent. He enjoys music, ping-pong, and swimming. His father is also named Horacio Zeballos, and his mother is named Carolina. He has one sister, Carolina Jr. His favorite surface is clay, and he is coached by Alejandro Lombardo.Tennis career
Zeballos has competed primarily on the ATP Challenger Tour, where he has won five singles titles and six doubles titles.2009: First ATP singles final
He reached his first ATP Tour final at the St. Petersburg Open, defeating Yuri Schukin, Oleksandr Dolgopolov Jr., Ernests Gulbis and Igor Kunitsyn before falling in the final to Stakhovsky in a third-set tiebreak.2010: First ATP doubles title
Zeballos started the singles season in a slump, falling in the first round four times, but had an excellent start to the doubles season. In his first tournament, the Heineken Open, Zeballos and Rogier Wassen defeated world no. 1 team Bob and Mike Bryan. Zeballos then reached the round of 16 at the Australian Open with countryman Leonardo Mayer, and reached the final at the Movistar Open with Italian Potito Starace.Zeballos then turned to the clay in the Copa Telmex in Argentina, where in the first round, he defeated countryman and former French Open champion Gastón Gaudio. It was Zeballos' first ATP singles win since he reached the final in St. Petersburg. Zeballos next defeated former world no. 1 Carlos Moyá and reached his first ATP quarterfinal since October, where he then lost to countryman Juan Mónaco. In doubles, Zeballos and countryman Sebastián Prieto were the fourth seeds and won the title against Simon Greul and Peter Luczak. It was Zeballos' first career ATP title. The next week, at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, Zeballos lost in the first round to Łukasz Kubot. He made it to the doubles semifinals, with partner Mónaco.
Zeballos was selected for the Argentine Davis Cup team for the first time. He played doubles with David Nalbandian against the Swedish pair of Robert Lindstedt and Robin Söderling. They won in straight sets. Zeballos reached a career milestone as he defeated his first-ever top-25 player, 24th ranked Gilles Simon, in the second roun at the Sony Ericsson Open. He then lost in the third round to eventual finalist Tomáš Berdych.
At the US Men's Clay Court Championships, he defeated Taylor Dent, Dudi Sela, and world no. 11 Fernando González for his first top-15 win and the biggest one of his career. He then faced eventual champion Juan Ignacio Chela in the semifinals, where he lost in straight sets.
At the US Open, Zeballos with partner Eduardo Schwank reached the semifinals in doubles.
2011-2012
Zeballos played mostly on the Challenger circuit in singles. He did not make it past the second round in any ATP events. He had more success in doubles. In 2012, he made it to the semifinals in Viña de Mar and Buenos Aires. At Roland Garros, he and partner Oliver Marach made it to the quarterfinals, where they were beaten by the Bryan brothers.2013: First ATP singles title
Zeballos won his first ATP singles title at Viña del Mar, where he defeated Rafael Nadal in three sets in his comeback tournament. This victory made Zeballos one of the only four players who have beaten Nadal in a final on clay.2017
Zeballos' first match in the 2017 Australian Open was a 5-hour and 15 minute loss to Ivo Karlović, the second longest match by time at the Australian Open in the Open Era.At Roland Garros, he had his best performance at a Grand Slam, reaching the fourth round. He was beaten by 6th seed Dominic Thiem in straight sets.
2019: First ATP Masters 1000 doubles title
Zeballos won his first ATP Masters 1000 Doubles Title at the 2019 BNP Paribas Open with Nikola Mektić. They defeated sixth-seeded Łukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo in the final. Zeballos became the first ATP Masters doubles champion from Argentina since 1997 after Luis Lobo at the Hamburg Masters.Significant finals
Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)
Masters 1000 finals
Doubles: 2 (2 titles)
ATP career finals
Singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | 2009 St. Petersburg Open – Singles| | St. Petersburg Open, Russia | 250 Series | Hard |  Sergiy Stakhovsky | 6–2, 6–7, 6–7 |
| Win | 1–1 | 2013 VTR Open – Singles| | Chile Open, Chile | 250 Series | Clay |  Rafael Nadal | 6–7, 7–6, 6–4 |
Doubles: 26 (15 titles, 11 runner-ups)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Win | 1–0 | 2010 Copa Telmex – Doubles| | Argentina Open, Argentina | 250 Series | Clay |  Sebastián Prieto |  Simon Greul Peter Luczak | 7–6, 6–3 |
| Loss | 1–1 | 2010 Movistar Open – Doubles| | Chile Open, Chile | 250 Series | Clay |  Potito Starace |  Łukasz Kubot Oliver Marach | 4–6, 0–6 |
| Win | 2–1 | 2011 BMW Open – Doubles| | Bavarian Championships, Germany | 250 Series | Clay | Simone Bolelli | Andreas Beck Christopher Kas | 7–6, 6–4 |
| Loss | 2–2 | 2013 Proton Malaysian Open – Doubles| | Malaysian Open, Malaysia | 250 Series | Hard |  Pablo Cuevas |  Eric Butorac Raven Klaasen | 2–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 2–3 | 2014 Copa Claro – Doubles| | Argentina Open, Argentina | 250 Series | Clay | Pablo Cuevas | Marcel Granollers Marc López | 5–7, 4–6 |
| Win | 3–3 | 2016 Brasil Open – Doubles| | Brasil Open, Brazil | 250 Series | Clay |  Julio Peralta | Pablo Carreño Busta David Marrero | 4–6, 6–1, |
| Win | 4–3 | 2016 Swiss Open Gstaad – Doubles| | Swiss Open, Switzerland | 250 Series | Clay | Julio Peralta |  Mate Pavić Michael Venus | 7–6, 6–2 |
| Win | 5–3 | 2016 BB&T Atlanta Open – Doubles| | Atlanta Open, United States | 250 Series | Hard | Andrés Molteni |  Johan Brunström Andreas Siljeström | 7–6, 6–4 |
| Win | 6–3 | 2016 Moselle Open – Doubles| | Moselle Open, France | 250 Series | Hard | Julio Peralta | Mate Pavić Michael Venus | 6–3, 7–6 |
| Loss | 6–4 | 2017 Ecuador Open Quito – Doubles| | Ecuador Open, Ecuador | 250 Series | Clay | Julio Peralta | James Cerretani Philipp Oswald | 3–6, 1–2 ret. |
| Win | 7–4 | 2017 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships – Doubles| | U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, United States | 250 Series | Clay | Julio Peralta | Dustin Brown Frances Tiafoe | 4–6, 7–5, |
| Loss | 7–5 | 2017 Winston-Salem Open – Doubles| | Winston-Salem Open, United States | 250 Series | Hard | Julio Peralta |  Jean-Julien Rojer Horia Tecău | 3–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 7–6 | 2017 St. Petersburg Open – Doubles| | St. Petersburg Open, Russia | 250 Series | Hard | Julio Peralta |  Roman Jebavý Matwé Middelkoop | 4–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 7–7 | 2018 Brisbane International – Men's Doubles| | Brisbane International, Australia | 250 Series | Hard | Leonardo Mayer |  Henri Kontinen John Peers | 6–3, 3–6, |
| Win | 8–7 | 2018 Argentina Open – Doubles| | Argentina Open, Argentina | 250 Series | Clay | Andrés Molteni |  Juan Sebastián Cabal Robert Farah | 6–3, 5–7, |
| Win | 9–7 | 2018 Swedish Open – Doubles| | Swedish Open, Sweden | 250 Series | Clay | Julio Peralta | Simone Bolelli Fabio Fognini | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Win | 10–7 | 2018 German Open – Doubles| | German Open, Germany | 500 Series | Clay | Julio Peralta | Oliver Marach Mate Pavić | 6–1, 4–6, |
| Loss | 10–8 | 2019 Córdoba Open – Doubles| | Córdoba Open, Argentina | 250 Series | Clay | Máximo González | Roman Jebavý Andrés Molteni | 4–6, 6–7 |
| Win | 11–8 | 2019 Argentina Open – Doubles| | Argentina Open, Argentina | 250 Series | Clay | Máximo González | Diego Schwartzman Dominic Thiem | 6–1, 6–1 |
| Win | 12–8 | 2019 BNP Paribas Open – Men's Doubles| | Indian Wells Masters, United States | Masters 1000 | Hard | Nikola Mektić | Łukasz Kubot Marcelo Melo | 4–6, 6–4, |
| Loss | 12–9 | 2019 Eastbourne International – Men's Doubles| | Eastbourne International, United Kingdom | 250 Series | Grass | Máximo González | Juan Sebastián Cabal Robert Farah | 6–3, 6–7, |
| Loss | 12–10 | 2019 Swedish Open – Men's Doubles| | Swedish Open, Sweden | 250 Series | Clay | Federico Delbonis |  Sander Gillé Joran Vliegen | 7–5, 5–7, |
| Win | 13–10 | 2019 Rogers Cup – Men's Doubles| | Canadian Open, Canada | Masters 1000 | Hard | Marcel Granollers | Robin Haase Wesley Koolhof | 7–5, 7–5 |
| Loss | 13–11 | 2019 US Open – Men's Doubles| | US Open, United States | Grand Slam | Hard | Marcel Granollers | Juan Sebastián Cabal Robert Farah | 4–6, 5–7 |
| Win | 14–11 | 2020 Argentina Open – Doubles| | Argentina Open, Argentina | 250 Series | Clay | Marcel Granollers | Guillermo Durán Juan Ignacio Londero | 6–4, 5–7, |
| Win | 15–11 | 2020 Rio Open – Doubles| | Rio Open, Brazil | 500 Series | Clay | Marcel Granollers | Salvatore Caruso Federico Gaio | 6–4, 5–7, |
Challenger finals: 21 (12–9)
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Winner | 1. | 22 June 2008 | Recanati, Italy | Hard |  Grega Žemlja | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Runner-up | 1. | 28 September 2008 | Bogotá, Colombia | Clay | Marcos Daniel | 4–6, 6–4, 4–6 |
| Winner | 2. | 1 February 2009 | Bucaramanga, Colombia | Clay | Carlos Salamanca | 7–5, 6–2 |
| Winner | 3. | 22 March 2009 | Bogotá, Colombia | Clay |  Santiago González | 7–6, 6–0 |
| Runner-up | 2. | 3 May 2009 | Pereira, Colombia | Clay | Alejandro Falla | 4–6, 6–4, 2–6 |
| Runner-up | 3. | 19 July 2009 | Bogotá, Colombia | Clay | Marcos Daniel | 6–4, 6–7, 4–6 |
| Winner | 4. | 26 July 2009 | Manta, Ecuador | Hard |  Vincent Millot | 3–6, 7–5, 6–3 |
| Winner | 5. | 9 August 2009 | Campos do Jordão, Brazil | Clay | Thiago Alves | 6–7, 6–4, 6–3 |
| Runner-up | 4. | 20 September 2009 | Cali, Colombia | Clay | Alejandro Falla | 4–6, 3–6 |
| Winner | 6. | 4 October 2009 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Clay | Gastón Gaudio | 6–2, 3–6, 6–3 |
| Runner-up | 5. | 6 March 2011 | Salinas, Ecuador | Hard | Andrés Molteni | 5–7, 6–7 |
| Runner-up | 6. | 15 May 2011 | Bordeaux, France | Clay | Marc Gicquel | 2–6, 4–6 |
| Runner-up | 7. | 1 April 2012 | Barranquilla, Colombia | Clay | Alejandro Falla | 4–6, 1–6 |
| Winner | 7. | 13 May 2012 | Prague, Czech Republic | Clay |  Martin Kližan | 1–6, 6–4, 7–6 |
| Winner | 8. | 4 November 2012 | Montevideo, Uruguay | Clay | Julian Reister | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Winner | 9. | 11 November 2012 | São Leopoldo, Brazil | Clay | Paul Capdeville | 3–6, 7–5, 7–6 |
| Winner | 10. | 6 January 2013 | São Paulo, Brazil | Hard | Rogério Dutra da Silva | 7–6, 6–2> |
| Runner-up | 8. | 15 July 2014 | Svijany, Czech Republic | Clay | Andrej Martin | 6–1, 1–6, 4–6 |
| Runner-up | 9. | 22 May 2016 | Mestre, Italy | Clay |  Gastao Elias | 6–7, 2–6 |
| Winner | 11. | 19 June 2016 | Poprad, Slovakia | Clay | Gerald Melzer | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Winner | 12. | 9 July 2016 | Båstad, Sweden | Clay |  Roberto Carballés Baena | 6–3, 6–4 |