Zeballos, ranked 73rd in the world and playing in just his second ATP Tour final, rallied to beat the former World No 1 6-7 (2/7), 7-6 (8/6), 6-4. He became only the third player — along with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer — to beat Nadal in a clay court final. Nadal said: “It was a great tournament for me. If we take everything, it was positive. It’s true I wanted to win the final but it wasn’t possible. He made things better than me and I didn’t play my best match.”

Rafael Nadal reacts after losing in the Vina del Mar final to Argentine Horacio Zeballos yesterday