BOGOTÁ, Colombia - The first WTA main draw win for Colombian teenager Emiliana Arango will be one to remember.
The 17-year-old wildcard stunned No.4 seed Veronica Cepede Royg in the first round of the Claro Open Colsanitas on Wednesday to score her first victory - and on home soil to boot - 6-0, 2-6, 6-4.
Arango scored her first WTA main draw win in her third-ever match, all of which have come in Bogotá, having lost in the first round in her last two appearances.
The teenager had previously won a combined five games in first-round defeats to eventual champion Irina Falconi in 2016, and Irina Khromacheva last year.
"I don’t really know what to say. I felt so happy at the beginning because of my level on the court, but she started to play better during the second set," Arango said after the match.
"I want to dedicate this win to my team for being by my side since the beginning, and also to all the people who came today to support me."
With the home crowd in her corner, 🇨🇴 @EmilianaArango moves on to the second round of the @CopaWTABogota!
Tops Cepede Royg 6-0, 2-6, 6-4 pic.twitter.com/sfS4KNfveX— WTA (@WTA) April 11, 2018
Born in Medellín, Arango reached a career-high of No.8 in the ITF junior world rankings earlier this year, and was a semifinalist at the US Open junior tournament last summer.
The teenager blitzed Cepede Royg in the opening set, with the loss of just six points, but ultimately needed to dig deep to score her first WTA main draw victory in a deciding set.
After serving for the match at 5-2 in the final set, the World No.510 in the WTA rankings held off a late charge from the World No.84 as she saved three break points for 5-5, before sealing the stunner with a forehand winner on her second match point.
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Arango will next face Italian Jasmine Paolini, who's had two days of rest as she completed her first-round victory on Monday prior to a pair of rainy days in Bogotá.
"The third set was really emotional for me. I felt very nervous at 5-2, and the last two games were very difficult to me," the teenager added after her nearly two-hour win. "I need to sleep well tonight in order to be ready for tomorrow."
It's the @EmilianaArango show!
She takes the first set 6-0! #CopaWTABogotá pic.twitter.com/B9MUUszYPH— WTA (@WTA) April 11, 2018
Colombians were unable to go 2-0 in the singles draw on Wednesday, as fellow home favorite and former champion Mariana Duque-Mariño was unable to pass a first-round test against No.7 seed Ana Bogdan.
Though the 2010 champion won four straight games from 5-2 down in the second set, she was unable to convert on a set point to win a fifth to send the match to a decider, and fell in a tiebreak, 6-1, 7-6(2).
Cepede Royg was not the only seed to be upset on Wednesday, as Mexican qualifier Renata Zarazua returned after yesterday's rain delay to see off No.8 seed Ajla Tomljanovic, 1-6, 6-4, 7-6(6).