Horacio Zeballos has dashed one tennis champion’s comeback dreams…

The 30-year-old Argentine tennis player defeated Juan Martin del Potro in the second round of the Miami Masters.

Zeballos did not originally have a spot in the main draw. But when Roger Federer withdrew from the event with a stomach virus, Zeballos was given a chance to play Del Potro on the show court in Florida.

Del Potro, a former US Open champion, started as favorite but he failed to create a single break point as Zeballos ran out a 6-4 6-4 winner.

Zeballos, looking for his first tour-level win of the year, made good on his opportunity by serving smartly and avoiding del Potro’s fearsome forehand. The left-handed Zeballos fired six aces and made 77 per cent of first serves, most of which were directed to del Potro’s backhand. He only dropped nine points on serve and did not face a break point in the 81-minute encounter.

“He played well,” said del Potro of his opponent. “He’s a lefty, he can play to my backhand easier than anyone else. He played very smart.”

Zeballos’ opponent in the third round will be Fernando Verdasco, who scored his first win in three ATP Head2Head meetings with Jeremy Chardy, 6-4, 6-4.