Mariano Zabaleta
Encyclopedia
Mariano Zabaleta is a retired professional male tennis player from Argentina
. He turned professional in 1996. He had an unusual but effective service motion and fighting spirit. His best shot was his forehand and his favourite surface was clay
.
at the quarter finals of the US Open
.
Zabaleta won three of the major junior events in 1995. The Italian Open juniors without losing a set against Martin Lee
in the final 6–4 6–2 and followed that up with French Open juniors which was also achieved without dropping a set and he defeated compatriot Mariano Puerta
6–2, 6–3 as he had done four times in 1995 and not losing a set in the process. Zabaleta finished his junior career with victory in the Orange Bowl
over Tommy Haas
6–2 3–6 6–1 and that was the only set he dropped in the tournament.
Zabaleta struggled inititally with the transition from juniors to seniors. In 1996 he won his first Challenger event in Birmingham, Alabama
over Bill Behrens 6–4, 6–4 and his quarter final performance in Bournemouth
was his best showing on the main tour.
In 1997, he made the final of the Guayaquil
Challenger losing to Tomas Nydahl
. In 1998 Zabaleta reached the third round of the French Open as a qualifier and defeated the number 2 player in the world and reigning Australian Open
champion Petr Korda
6–0 6–2 3–6 4–6 6–3 before losing to Hicham Arazi
. Later in the year Zabaleta made his first semifinal in Amsterdam
losing to Magnus Norman
and then in November he won his first ATP title as a senior at Bogotá
defeating Ramón Delgado
6–4 6–4 in the final.
In 1999, Zabaleta was a finalist on three occasions without winning a title, his best performance was reaching the final of the Hamburg Masters
against Marcelo Ríos
. Zabaleta had matchpoint in the fourth set and lost the set in the tiebreak and lost the match 7–6(5) 5–7 7–5 6–7(5) 2–6. Zabaleta lost to Rios again in St Pölten and in Amsterdam
to Younes El Aynaoui
.
Zabaleta reached the third round of the 2000 Australian Open
his best ever showing at the event before losing to Andre Agassi
, but he was involved in an Americas Zone Group Davis Cup
tie with rivals Chile
in Santiago
when Zabaleta was leading 7–5 2–6 7–6(1) 3–1, when sections of the Chilean crowd incensed by what was perceived to be bad calls against Nicolás Massú threw missiles, fruits, coins, bottles, plastic chairs among other things. Zabaleta's father was hurt in the disturbances and required 10 stitches and the Argentines did not complete the tie after they were escorted from the court by police. Zabaleta reached the third round of the Olympics in Sydney defeating Marcelo Ríos
and Jeff Tarango
before losing to Max Mirnyi
.
While there were no titles in 2001 and 2002 for Zabaleta, he achieved his best ever Grand Slam
performance surprisingly at the US Open
where he made the quarter finals on a fast hardcourt, whereas most of success has come on the clay
. He defeated Sébastien Grosjean
who was in the top 10 at the time, in the first round, then Taylor Dent
, Greg Rusedski
and Xavier Malisse
were beaten before Marat Safin
ended his run. He also reached the fourth round of the 2002 French Open defeating top 10 player Yevgeny Kafelnikov
and falling to Àlex Corretja
.
2003 was Zabaleta's best year overall with a 33-25 record and for the first time a positive record on both hardcourt 12-11 and on clay 20-11. He made the semis in Auckland
and Scottsdale
losing to Gustavo Kuerten
and Mark Philippoussis
respectively, he made first his final since 1999 at Acapulco
in the process avenging the defeat in Auckland
by Gustavo Kuerten
in the semi finals before losing to Agustín Calleri
.
Zabaleta matched his fourth round showing from the previous year at the French Open losing to Guillermo Coria
in a match that lasted over 4 hours and 41 minutes and went to 5 sets. Then Zabaleta won his second title in Båstad
defeating Nicolás Lapentti
6–3 6–4. At the after match presentation the organisers played a recording of the ABBA
song "Money, Money, Money
" that Zabaleta made with Younes El Aynaoui
which the crowd enjoyed and had a good laugh about. Zabaleta followed up with a semi final in Kitzbühel
losing to reigning French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero
.
In 2004, Zabaleta had defended his title in Båstad
against childhood friend and French Open champion Gastón Gaudio
6–1 4–6 7–6(4). He made the semi finals of the Italian Open defeating Tim Henman
and Nicolás Massú
who were both in the top 15 at the time, before losing to Carlos Moyà
. He also had quarter final appearances in Viña del Mar
, Buenos Aires
and Kitzbühel
.
Zabaleta started 2005 with quarter final appearances in Viña del Mar
losing to Fernando González
. After pushing the world number 1 Roger Federer
to 3 sets in Miami Masters
. In the quarter finals of the Monte Carlo Masters, Zabaleta was leading David Ferrer
by a set and had to be carried off the court with a foot injury which kept him out for two months and he missed the French Open in the process. He came back to play in Båstad
and lost in the quarter finals to Tomáš Berdych
and made the semi finals in Kitzbühel
and after a series of poor results, then he had surgery on his knee
.
Zabaleta continued to suffer knee problems in 2006 and finished outside the top 100 for the first time since 1997. He started 2007 by winning the La Serena
Challenger defeating Juan-Pablo Brzezicki and was a finalist in Florianópolis
losing to Óscar Hernández. After qualifying for the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
, Zabaleta reached the final without losing a set and in the process defeated both finalists from 2006 Mardy Fish
and Jürgen Melzer
before losing to Croat Ivo Karlović
. Zabaleta won the Bermuda
Challenger and with this victory took him back inside the top 100 in the ATP
rankings.
In 2008, Zabaleta suffered very poor results, which led to him dropping beyond top 1000. In March 2009, he lost the ATP Challenger de Prividencia final in Santiago de Chile against countryman Máximo González
. With this result, he is secure to move forward several spots in the ranking.
After playing on the Challenger circuit in 2009, Zabaleta retired from tennis in 2010 and is now taking part on a TV show on ESPN
http://www.fuebuena.com.ar/?p=8047
conduct various interviews with other players, along with other various skits.
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. He turned professional in 1996. He had an unusual but effective service motion and fighting spirit. His best shot was his forehand and his favourite surface was clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
.
Career
Zabaleta was an outstanding junior in 1995 and finished the year as number 1 with a junior career record of 81-6, with his only loss in 1995 to Peter WesselsPeter Wessels
Peter Wessels is a presently inactive tour professional male tennis player from the Netherlands. He has been ranked as high as 72 in the world ....
at the quarter finals of the US Open
U.S. Open (tennis)
The US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881...
.
Zabaleta won three of the major junior events in 1995. The Italian Open juniors without losing a set against Martin Lee
Martin Lee
Martin Lee , QC, SC, JP, was the founding chairman of the Democratic Party in Hong Kong. He was a directly-elected Member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong for the Hong Kong Island geographical constituency...
in the final 6–4 6–2 and followed that up with French Open juniors which was also achieved without dropping a set and he defeated compatriot Mariano Puerta
Mariano Puerta
Mariano Ruben Puerta is a former Argentine professional male tennis player best known for making the final of the French Open in 2005, where he lost to Rafael Nadal in four sets.-Career:...
6–2, 6–3 as he had done four times in 1995 and not losing a set in the process. Zabaleta finished his junior career with victory in the Orange Bowl
Orange Bowl (tennis)
The Orange Bowl is an annual college football bowl game. Orange Bowl may also refer to:* Miami Orange Bowl, a demolished stadium formerly in Miami, Florida* One of two tennis tournaments, one for juniors and the other for youth...
over Tommy Haas
Tommy Haas
Tommy Haas is a German and recently naturalized American professional tennis player. He has competed on the ATP Tour since 1996. After breaking into the world top 100 in 1997, and reaching a career-high ranking of world no...
6–2 3–6 6–1 and that was the only set he dropped in the tournament.
Zabaleta struggled inititally with the transition from juniors to seniors. In 1996 he won his first Challenger event in Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
over Bill Behrens 6–4, 6–4 and his quarter final performance in Bournemouth
Bournemouth
Bournemouth is a large coastal resort town in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. According to the 2001 Census the town has a population of 163,444, making it the largest settlement in Dorset. It is also the largest settlement between Southampton and Plymouth...
was his best showing on the main tour.
In 1997, he made the final of the Guayaquil
Guayaquil
Guayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port...
Challenger losing to Tomas Nydahl
Tomas Nydahl
Tomas Nydahl is a former professional tennis player from Sweden. He reached a career high singles ranking of World No. 72 in 1998. He managed to beat players such as Thomas Muster, Marcelo Rios, Tim Henman, Thommy Haas, Petr Korda.. He won 12 Challenger Tournaments and he finished runner-up at 3...
. In 1998 Zabaleta reached the third round of the French Open as a qualifier and defeated the number 2 player in the world and reigning Australian Open
Australian Open
The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...
champion Petr Korda
Petr Korda
Petr Korda is a former professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. He is best known for winning the Australian Open in 1998 and for testing positive for the banned substance, nandrolone, following a match at Wimbledon that same year.-Career:Korda was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia.He first...
6–0 6–2 3–6 4–6 6–3 before losing to Hicham Arazi
Hicham Arazi
Hicham Arazi is a male tennis player from Morocco. He played professionally from 1993 to the end of the 2007. The left-hander reached his highest singles ranking in the ATP Tour on November 5, 2001, when he reached number 22 in the world. During his career, Arazi captured one singles title, in...
. Later in the year Zabaleta made his first semifinal in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
losing to Magnus Norman
Magnus Norman
Magnus Norman is a retired Swedish professional tennis player who is best known for being the runner-up at the French Open in 2000 and for briefly being ranked World Number 2. He won 12 singles titles, including a Tennis Masters Series tournament in Rome, Italy.Norman reached his career high...
and then in November he won his first ATP title as a senior at Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
defeating Ramón Delgado
Ramon Delgado
Ramón Delgado is a tennis player from Paraguay, who turned professional in 1995. At the 1998 French Open, he defeated Pete Sampras in the second round. He has not won a single title during his career so far...
6–4 6–4 in the final.
In 1999, Zabaleta was a finalist on three occasions without winning a title, his best performance was reaching the final of the Hamburg Masters
Hamburg Masters
The German Open Hamburg, established in 1892, is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Hamburg, Germany and part of the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour. Originally a Grand Prix Tennis Tour event between 1978 and 1989 it was part of the Grand Prix Championship...
against Marcelo Ríos
Marcelo Ríos
Marcelo Andrés Ríos Mayorga is a former World No. 1 tennis player from Chile. Nicknamed El Chino and El zurdo de Vitacura , he became the first Latin American player to reach the top position on the Association of Tennis Professionals singles rankings in 1998. He held the World No...
. Zabaleta had matchpoint in the fourth set and lost the set in the tiebreak and lost the match 7–6(5) 5–7 7–5 6–7(5) 2–6. Zabaleta lost to Rios again in St Pölten and in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
to Younes El Aynaoui
Younes El Aynaoui
Younes El Aynaoui is a professional tennis player from Morocco.He is a five-time singles winner on the ATP Tour and reached his career-high singles ranking of No. 14 in 2003, at the age of 31. His long career has been plagued by injuries and he did not play competitive tennis between September...
.
Zabaleta reached the third round of the 2000 Australian Open
Australian Open
The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...
his best ever showing at the event before losing to Andre Agassi
Andre Agassi
Andre Kirk Agassi is a retired American professional tennis player and former world no. 1. Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Agassi has been called the best service returner in the history of the game...
, but he was involved in an Americas Zone Group Davis Cup
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
tie with rivals Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
in Santiago
Santiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
when Zabaleta was leading 7–5 2–6 7–6(1) 3–1, when sections of the Chilean crowd incensed by what was perceived to be bad calls against Nicolás Massú threw missiles, fruits, coins, bottles, plastic chairs among other things. Zabaleta's father was hurt in the disturbances and required 10 stitches and the Argentines did not complete the tie after they were escorted from the court by police. Zabaleta reached the third round of the Olympics in Sydney defeating Marcelo Ríos
Marcelo Ríos
Marcelo Andrés Ríos Mayorga is a former World No. 1 tennis player from Chile. Nicknamed El Chino and El zurdo de Vitacura , he became the first Latin American player to reach the top position on the Association of Tennis Professionals singles rankings in 1998. He held the World No...
and Jeff Tarango
Jeff Tarango
Jeffrey Gail Tarango is a retired American professional tennis player. He was a top ten doubles player and a French Open doubles runner up, but is mostly remembered for defaulting a match at Wimbledon and his wife assaulting the umpire once Tarango had left the court.-Career summary:Tarango...
before losing to Max Mirnyi
Max Mirnyi
Max Mirnyi is a professional tennis player from Belarus.Today Mirnyi is a doubles specialist, but he also enjoyed a good singles career, finishing in the top 50 in the world for seven straight years, as well as representing Belarus in Davis Cup competition since April 1994, where he holds a...
.
While there were no titles in 2001 and 2002 for Zabaleta, he achieved his best ever Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
performance surprisingly at the US Open
U.S. Open (tennis)
The US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881...
where he made the quarter finals on a fast hardcourt, whereas most of success has come on the clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
. He defeated Sébastien Grosjean
Sébastien Grosjean
Sébastien René Grosjean is a retired tennis player from France. His career-high ATP Entry ranking is No. 4 . He retired from tennis on May 27, 2010.-Career:...
who was in the top 10 at the time, in the first round, then Taylor Dent
Taylor Dent
Taylor Phillip Dent is a retired professional tennis player from the United States.-Early career and back injury:He won 4 ATP singles titles during his career: Newport , Bangkok , Memphis , and Moscow , and reached the finals of three other events on tour...
, Greg Rusedski
Greg Rusedski
Gregory "Greg" Rusedski is a British Canadian former tennis player who turned professional in 1991 and played until his retirement on 7 April 2007, at the age of 33...
and Xavier Malisse
Xavier Malisse
Xavier Malisse is a Belgian tennis player. Born in Kortrijk, Belgium, he is the only men's player from his country to have been ranked in the top 20 of the ATP tour. He is sponsored by Prince and Lotto. His nickname is "The X-Man"....
were beaten before Marat Safin
Marat Safin
Marat Mikhailovich Safin is a retired Russian tennis player of Tatar descent. Safin won two grand slams and reached the world number 1 ranking during his career. He was also famous for his emotional outbursts and sometimes fiery temper on court. Safin also holds the record for most broken...
ended his run. He also reached the fourth round of the 2002 French Open defeating top 10 player Yevgeny Kafelnikov
Yevgeny Kafelnikov
Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Kafelnikov is a former World No. 1 tennis player from Russia. He won two Grand Slam singles titles , four Grand Slam doubles titles, and the men's singles gold medal at the Sydney Olympic Games. He also helped Russia win the Davis Cup in 2002...
and falling to Àlex Corretja
Àlex Corretja
Àlex Corretja i Verdegay is a former professional tennis player from Spain. During his career, he finished runner-up twice at the French Open . He won the ATP Tour World Championships in 1998 and reached his career-high singles ranking of world no. 2 in 1999...
.
2003 was Zabaleta's best year overall with a 33-25 record and for the first time a positive record on both hardcourt 12-11 and on clay 20-11. He made the semis in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
and Scottsdale
Scottsdale
Scottsdale is the name of several places:* Scottsdale, Arizona, United States* Scottsdale, Tasmania, Australia* Scottsdale Reserve, New South Wales, Australia...
losing to Gustavo Kuerten
Gustavo Kuerten
Gustavo Kuerten is a retired former World No. 1 tennis player from Brazil. He won the French Open three times between 1997 and 2001, and was the Tennis Masters Cup champion in 2000...
and Mark Philippoussis
Mark Philippoussis
Mark Anthony Philippoussis is an Australian tennis player. He turned professional in 1994. His father is Greek, while his mother is of Italian ancestry....
respectively, he made first his final since 1999 at Acapulco
Acapulco
Acapulco is a city, municipality and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay and has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico’s history...
in the process avenging the defeat in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
by Gustavo Kuerten
Gustavo Kuerten
Gustavo Kuerten is a retired former World No. 1 tennis player from Brazil. He won the French Open three times between 1997 and 2001, and was the Tennis Masters Cup champion in 2000...
in the semi finals before losing to Agustín Calleri
Agustín Calleri
Agustín Calleri Shaal is a retired professional male tennis player from Argentina. His nickname is Gordo which means Fat in Spanish. He is known as a hard-hitter and he prefers playing on clay....
.
Zabaleta matched his fourth round showing from the previous year at the French Open losing to Guillermo Coria
Guillermo Coria
Guillermo Sebastián Coria , nicknames include El Mago , is a retired professional tennis player from Argentina who was runner-up in the 2004 French Open...
in a match that lasted over 4 hours and 41 minutes and went to 5 sets. Then Zabaleta won his second title in Båstad
Båstad
Båstad is a locality and the seat of Båstad Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 4,793 inhabitants in 2005.-Geography:The town of Båstad is located in a sheltered bay with the Hallandian ridge stretching behind it...
defeating Nicolás Lapentti
Nicolás Lapentti
----Nicolás Alexander Lapentti Gómez is a former professional tennis player from Ecuador who is ranked 214th...
6–3 6–4. At the after match presentation the organisers played a recording of the ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
song "Money, Money, Money
Money, Money, Money
"Money, Money, Money", originally "Gypsy Girl", is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. The song, like most ABBA songs, was written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. It was released as a single on November 1, 1976, as the follow-up single to "Dancing Queen, both from the album Arrival...
" that Zabaleta made with Younes El Aynaoui
Younes El Aynaoui
Younes El Aynaoui is a professional tennis player from Morocco.He is a five-time singles winner on the ATP Tour and reached his career-high singles ranking of No. 14 in 2003, at the age of 31. His long career has been plagued by injuries and he did not play competitive tennis between September...
which the crowd enjoyed and had a good laugh about. Zabaleta followed up with a semi final in Kitzbühel
Kitzbühel
-Demographic evolution:-Personalities:*Karl Wilhelm von Dalla Torre , entomologist and botanist*Alfons Walde , expressionist painter and architect*Peter Aufschnaiter , mountaineer and geographer...
losing to reigning French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero
Juan Carlos Ferrero
Juan Carlos Ferrero Donat is a professional tennis player, and a former world no. 1 player, from Spain. He captured the men's singles title at the 2003 French Open, and in September of that year, he became the 21st player to hold the world no. 1 ranking. He was also the runner-up at the 2002...
.
In 2004, Zabaleta had defended his title in Båstad
Båstad
Båstad is a locality and the seat of Båstad Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 4,793 inhabitants in 2005.-Geography:The town of Båstad is located in a sheltered bay with the Hallandian ridge stretching behind it...
against childhood friend and French Open champion Gastón Gaudio
Gastón Gaudio
Gastón Norberto Gaudio is a former tennis player from Argentina. His career-high ATP ranking was World No. 5 in 2005...
6–1 4–6 7–6(4). He made the semi finals of the Italian Open defeating Tim Henman
Tim Henman
Timothy Henry "Tim" Henman OBE is a retired English professional tennis player and former British Number One. Henman played a serve-and-volley style of tennis that suited the grass courts of Wimbledon. He was the first player from the United Kingdom since Roger Taylor in the 1970s to reach the...
and Nicolás Massú
Nicolás Massú
Nicolás Alejandro Massú Fried , nicknamed Vampiro , is a Chilean tennis player, a former world number nine in singles, and a two-time Olympic gold medalist...
who were both in the top 15 at the time, before losing to Carlos Moyà
Carlos Moyá
Carlos Moya Llompart is a retired former world no. 1 tennis player from Spain. He was the French Open singles champion in 1998 and was the singles runner-up at the 1997 Australian Open. In 2004, he helped his country win the Davis Cup. He currently resides in Switzerland...
. He also had quarter final appearances in Viña del Mar
Viña del Mar
Viña del Mar , is a city and commune on central Chile's Pacific coast. Its long stretches of white sandy beaches are a major attraction for national and international tourists. The city is Chile's main tourist attraction. Known as "La Ciudad Jardín" , Viña del Mar is a Chilean Municipality located...
, Buenos Aires
ATP Buenos Aires
The ATP Buenos Aires is an annual tennis event for male tennis players held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The tournament is an ATP World Tour 250 series event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour and it is played on outdoor clay courts at the 5,500 capacity Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club,...
and Kitzbühel
Kitzbühel
-Demographic evolution:-Personalities:*Karl Wilhelm von Dalla Torre , entomologist and botanist*Alfons Walde , expressionist painter and architect*Peter Aufschnaiter , mountaineer and geographer...
.
Zabaleta started 2005 with quarter final appearances in Viña del Mar
Viña del Mar
Viña del Mar , is a city and commune on central Chile's Pacific coast. Its long stretches of white sandy beaches are a major attraction for national and international tourists. The city is Chile's main tourist attraction. Known as "La Ciudad Jardín" , Viña del Mar is a Chilean Municipality located...
losing to Fernando González
Fernando González
----Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi is a professional tennis player from Chile. He is known for having one of the hardest forehands on the circuit. In Spanish he is called El Bombardero de La Reina and Mano de Piedra...
. After pushing the world number 1 Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
to 3 sets in Miami Masters
Miami Masters
The Miami Masters is an annual tennis tournament for men and women held in Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida. It is an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the men's tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the women's tour and is played on hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park...
. In the quarter finals of the Monte Carlo Masters, Zabaleta was leading David Ferrer
David Ferrer
David Ferrer Ern is a Spanish professional tennis player who lives in Valencia, Spain who is currently no. 5 in the ATP Rankings and the second-highest ranked Spaniard behind world no. 2 Rafael Nadal. He turned professional in 2000...
by a set and had to be carried off the court with a foot injury which kept him out for two months and he missed the French Open in the process. He came back to play in Båstad
Båstad
Båstad is a locality and the seat of Båstad Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 4,793 inhabitants in 2005.-Geography:The town of Båstad is located in a sheltered bay with the Hallandian ridge stretching behind it...
and lost in the quarter finals to Tomáš Berdych
Tomáš Berdych
Tomáš Berdych is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. His most notable achievements are reaching the final of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships, and the semifinals of the 2010 French Open. He defeated the Croatian player Ivan Ljubičić in five sets to win the Paris Masters in 2005...
and made the semi finals in Kitzbühel
Kitzbühel
-Demographic evolution:-Personalities:*Karl Wilhelm von Dalla Torre , entomologist and botanist*Alfons Walde , expressionist painter and architect*Peter Aufschnaiter , mountaineer and geographer...
and after a series of poor results, then he had surgery on his knee
Knee
The knee joint joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two articulations: one between the fibula and tibia, and one between the femur and patella. It is the largest joint in the human body and is very complicated. The knee is a mobile trocho-ginglymus , which permits flexion and extension as...
.
Zabaleta continued to suffer knee problems in 2006 and finished outside the top 100 for the first time since 1997. He started 2007 by winning the La Serena
La Serena
La Serena is a city and commune in northern Chile, capital of the Coquimbo Region. Founded in 1544, it is the country's second oldest city after the national capital, Santiago, located to the south. It has a communal population of 190,716 area, the country's fourth largest conurbation La Serena...
Challenger defeating Juan-Pablo Brzezicki and was a finalist in Florianópolis
Florianópolis
-Climate:Florianópolis experiences a warm humid subtropical climate, falling just short of a true tropical climate. The seasons of the year are distinct, with a well-defined summer and winter, and characteristic weather for autumn and spring. Frost is infrequent, but occurs occasionally in the winter...
losing to Óscar Hernández. After qualifying for the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships
The U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship is an annual ATP Tour tennis tournament that started in 1910. It is the last remaining ATP Tour-level tournament in the United States to be played on clay courts....
, Zabaleta reached the final without losing a set and in the process defeated both finalists from 2006 Mardy Fish
Mardy Fish
Mardy Simpson Fish is an American professional tennis player, and Olympic silver medalist. He is a hardcourt specialist...
and Jürgen Melzer
Jürgen Melzer
Jürgen Melzer is an Austrian tennis player. He reached a career-high ranking of no. 8 on 18 April 2011, and a doubles ranking of no. 6 on 13 September 2010. He is the only current player on the ATP Tour to be ranked in the top 10 in both singles and doubles. He is a left-handed tennis player, but...
before losing to Croat Ivo Karlović
Ivo Karlovic
Ivo Karlović is a Croatian tennis player. He has won four ATP singles titles: three in 2007 and one in 2008. Karlović is the tallest player ever on the ATP Tour at 208 cm . He is a serve-and-volleyer, Karlovic holds the fastest serve recorded in professional tennis, measured at 251 km/h ...
. Zabaleta won the Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
Challenger and with this victory took him back inside the top 100 in the ATP
Association of Tennis Professionals
The Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the...
rankings.
In 2008, Zabaleta suffered very poor results, which led to him dropping beyond top 1000. In March 2009, he lost the ATP Challenger de Prividencia final in Santiago de Chile against countryman Máximo González
Máximo González
Máximo González Mereira is a professional tennis player from Argentina. His career high ranking is #58, achieved on July 6, 2009.- Early career through 2006 :...
. With this result, he is secure to move forward several spots in the ranking.
After playing on the Challenger circuit in 2009, Zabaleta retired from tennis in 2010 and is now taking part on a TV show on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
http://www.fuebuena.com.ar/?p=8047
Personal and miscellaneous
In 2004 he started his own show called Tenis Pro in which he takes the video camera with him to all the tournaments and highlights life on tour in a light hearted manner and along with Juan Ignacio ChelaJuan Ignacio Chela
Juan Ignacio Chela is a professional male tennis player from Argentina. Like most Argentine players he is comfortable on Clay courts and owns all six of his career titles on the surface...
conduct various interviews with other players, along with other various skits.
Singles titles (3)
| Legend |
| Grand Slam (0) |
| Tennis Masters Cup (0) |
| ATP Masters Series (0) |
| ATP Championship Series (0) |
| ATP Tour (3) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score |
| 1. | November 2, 1998 |  BogotáATP Bogotá The Bancolombia Open is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor red clay courts. It is currently part of the Association of Tennis Professionals Challenger Tour... , Colombia Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the... |
Clay |  Ramón DelgadoRamon Delgado Ramón Delgado is a tennis player from Paraguay, who turned professional in 1995. At the 1998 French Open, he defeated Pete Sampras in the second round. He has not won a single title during his career so far... |
6–4, 6–4 |
| 2. | July 7, 2003 |  BåstadSwedish Open The SkiStar Swedish Open is an ATP World Tour 250 series tennis tournament on the ATP Tour held in Båstad, Sweden in July each year.The Collector Swedish Open Women is a tennis tournament held in Båstad, Sweden... , Sweden |
Clay |  Nicolás LapenttiNicolás Lapentti ----Nicolás Alexander Lapentti Gómez is a former professional tennis player from Ecuador who is ranked 214th... |
6–3, 6–4 |
| 3. | July 5, 2004 | Båstad, Sweden |
Clay |  Gastón GaudioGastón Gaudio Gastón Norberto Gaudio is a former tennis player from Argentina. His career-high ATP ranking was World No. 5 in 2005... |
6–1, 4–6, 7–6(4) |
Runner-ups (5)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score |
| 1. | May 3, 1999 |  HamburgHamburg Masters The German Open Hamburg, established in 1892, is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Hamburg, Germany and part of the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour. Originally a Grand Prix Tennis Tour event between 1978 and 1989 it was part of the Grand Prix Championship... , Germany |
Clay |  Marcelo RíosMarcelo Ríos Marcelo Andrés Ríos Mayorga is a former World No. 1 tennis player from Chile. Nicknamed El Chino and El zurdo de Vitacura , he became the first Latin American player to reach the top position on the Association of Tennis Professionals singles rankings in 1998. He held the World No... |
7–6(5), 5–7, 7–5, 6–7(5), 2–6 |
| 2. | May 17, 1999 |  St PöltenHypo Group Tennis International The Hypo Group Tennis International was an annual tennis tournament held in Pörtschach, Austria. The event was part of the ATP Tour's ATP International Series. The tournament had been held since 1981, on clay courts.-List of singles winners:... , Austria |
Clay | Marcelo Ríos |
4–4, ret. |
| 3. | August 2, 1999 |  Amsterdam, Netherlands |
Clay |  Younes El AynaouiYounes El Aynaoui Younes El Aynaoui is a professional tennis player from Morocco.He is a five-time singles winner on the ATP Tour and reached his career-high singles ranking of No. 14 in 2003, at the age of 31. His long career has been plagued by injuries and he did not play competitive tennis between September... |
0–6, 3–6 |
| 4. | February 24, 2003 |  AcapulcoAbierto Mexicano Telcel The Abierto Mexicano Telcel is a tennis tournament held in Acapulco, Mexico. It is an event on both the ATP Tour and the WTA Tour... , Mexico |
Clay | Agustín Calleri Agustín Calleri Agustín Calleri Shaal is a retired professional male tennis player from Argentina. His nickname is Gordo which means Fat in Spanish. He is known as a hard-hitter and he prefers playing on clay.... |
5–7, 6–3, 3–6 |
| 5. | April 9, 2007 |  Houston, U.S. |
Clay |  Ivo KarlovićIvo Karlovic Ivo Karlović is a Croatian tennis player. He has won four ATP singles titles: three in 2007 and one in 2008. Karlović is the tallest player ever on the ATP Tour at 208 cm . He is a serve-and-volleyer, Karlovic holds the fastest serve recorded in professional tennis, measured at 251 km/h ... |
4–6, 1–6 |