Fonseca after beating Etcheverry: "Clay is my favorite surface".

João Fonseca continues to progress. The 18-year-old Brazilian, who failed to reach the first round of the Davis Cup play-offs with his country against France in recent days, was back in South America for the Buenos Aires tournament.

His first round opponent was local Tomas Martin Etcheverry, ranked 44th in the world.

In an atmosphere shared by Argentine and Brazilian fans, Fonseca played a very good match and won in two sets (6-3, 6-3). He will now face Federico Coria in another clash of neighbors.

In a press conference after his win, Fonseca was delighted with his performance.

"I knew that playing here against an Argentine would be difficult, especially against Tomas, a very solid player who does very well on clay.

I'm happy with the win, with the way I approached the match, both mentally and physically, but also technically.

I had my ups and downs, I was nervous in some matches, but today I was able to stay strong. I think that's where the difference was made.

I hadn't played on clay for seven months, but I managed to train here for a week and I felt good, it's my favorite surface.

Last year, I played a lot on hard court to improve my knowledge of these tournament conditions and to gain experience, because South America doesn't have many courts with this surface.

Today, I'm delighted to be back on clay and to get my first win. I knew it would be tough against Tomas, because it's his favourite surface... But it's also mine," he assures us.