BOGOTÁ, Colombia - 2012 champion Lara Arruabarrena dodged an inspired upset bid from Mexican qualifier Victoria Rodriguez to move into the second round at the Claro Open Colsanitas.

The Spaniard needed a second-set tiebreak and weathered a three-and-a-half hour rain delay to emerge victorious over Rodriguez 6-2, 7-6(3).

"The conditions here are different from those of the other tournaments because of the altitude, and it is always difficult to get into rhythm during the first matches," Arruabarrena said after the match.

"It's raining a lot and it took me a while to start after the break, but it's always nice to go back to Bogotá. I'm doing pretty well in these conditions, but I have to be very focused during each match, because everyone is tough regardless of the ranking or the name that they have."

Arruabarrena got off to a fast start, going up a double break right away to build up a 4-0 lead, but a handful of double faults handed Rodriguez a break back.

Arruabarrena broke through once more, staying aggressive and forcing Rodriguez to go for bigger shots, racking up the unforced errors - the Mexican hit 17 to her opponent’s seven.

In the second set, the pair traded breaks to start, with Rodriguez striking back right away to keep pace with Arruabarrena at 1-1. The Mexican raised her level considerably to put Arruabarrena under pressure, but it was Arruabarrena who once again struck first, at 3-2.

But Rodriguez was relentless, earning two break points on the Spaniard’s serve in the very next game - but just as her comeback was getting started the rain, which had wreaked havoc on the Bogota schedule all week, came down to halt play for over three hours.

Upon resumption, Arruabarrena immediately hit a double fault - one of her five in the match - to put Rodriguez right back in it. Four breaks of serve later and the Mexican grabbed a crucial hold to earn her first lead of the match at 5-4.

They marched through to a tiebreak, where Arruabarrena finally found her rhythm and allowed her opponent just three points as she closed out the match.

"Whenever I come here, I think there are no favorites for the tournament, because the conditions are different for all," Arruabarren added. "We never play at such altitude, and then anything can happen. You have to play match to match."

Up next in the second round, Arruabarrena will take on fellow Spanish player Sara Sorribes Tormo, who came from a set down to defeat Canada’s Carol Zhao, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1.

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Elsewhere in the bottom half of the draw, Greek qualifier Valentini Grammatikopoulou also came from a set down on Wednesday to defeat Japan's Miyu Kato, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, while Bulgaria's Elisa Kostova saw off Nao Hibino, 6-2, 6-4.