Among the ATP veterans who have recently revitalized their careers is Tommy Robredo.  The 31-year-old Spaniard returned to the top 20 after an outstanding 2013 campaign, including quarterfinals at Roland Garros and the US Open.  During the first of those fortnights, Robredo showcased his competitive resilience by rallying from a two-set deficit in three straight matches.

On Wednesday, however, the tables turned when the world No. 16 fell victim to a stirring comeback by his opponent.  Ranked 75 places lower than Robredo, Leonardo Mayer had little reason to believe that  he could score the upset.  Mayer generally prefers faster surfaces to the outdoor red clay in Vina del Mar, Chile, where he faced Robredo in the second round.  By contrast, Robredo's affinity for clay gave him a surface edge that enhanced the gap separating their overall talent.  Moreover, Mayer had won only one main-draw match at the ATP level since the US Open, so he brought much less momentum to their match than a man who had reached the second week of the Australian Open.

For most of the first two sets, no surprise seemed in store.  Robredo faced only a single break point in the first set, which he saved, and opportunistically pounced on one of the two that he received on Mayer's serve.  With that set in hand, both men held serve throughout the second set en route to a tiebreak.  The Spanish second seed looked likely to close out a straight-sets win despite the underdog's strong serving performance, for he held four match points late in the second set. 

Able to save all of the match points, Mayer eked out the second-set tiebreak 10-8.  He did not allow the elation from the narrow escape to disrupt his focus in the third set, when his serve grew even sharper.  Mayer did not face a break point in the final set as both men held serve to 4-4.  Unbroken through his first 15 service games, Robredo yielded the decisive break at that stage.  The world No. 91 served out the upset a game later. 

This match differed from the grinding wars of attrition that one usually expects on outdoor red clay.  Each man dropped serve only once, despite striking only a handful of aces, and dominated behind their first serves.  As a result, the margin of error on either side was exceptionally slim.  Perhaps realizing that he had nothing to lose, Mayer found the courage to deliver his first win over a top-20 opponent at an ATP tournament since 2009. 

Fans should keep watching Vina del Mar as the week progresses to see if it produces more surprises.