Great start for Gonzalo

Gonzalo Lama got his season off to the best posible start with a straight sets win in the Challenger of Bucaramanga on Wednesday.

Colombia – The 20-year-old was Chile´s last hope after Christian Garín lost in the first round on Tuesday – and he didn´t disappoint.

Although he was up against a player more than 100 places higher in the rankings, Lama (296) showed exactly why he is one to watch.

He took the first set 6-3 against Argentinian Renzo Olivo (192) and then repeated the feat in the second set to take victory in one hour and 23 minutes. Olivo had won their one previous encounter in 2012.

In the $40,000 tournament, Lama has to wait and see who he plays in round two. It could be the second seeded local Alejandro Falla (87) or American Chase Buchanan.

Garín won through three rounds of qualifying before losing to Argentinian Diego Schwartzman in three sets in the first round. He received some good news after learning that he has been allocated a wild card to play the qualifying for the ATP of Buenos Aires.

Garín and Lama have a busy start to the season. They are part of the Chile team that confronts Barbados in the Davis Cup at the end of the month and have been granted wild cards for the Royal Guard Open in Viña del Mar at the start of February.