Fifth seed Thomaz Bellucci held on to beat fellow Brazilian Guilherme Clezar 7-6 (7/4) 5-7 7-6 (7/1) in the first round of the Brasil Open.
The 25-year-old was inconsistent but still had enough to beat his compatriot in two hours and 36 minutes.
Spain's eighth seed Albert Ramos also progressed as he beat compatriot Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-3 7-5.
Filippo Volandri saved two match points on his way to a 6-3 3-6 7-6 (8/6) over Daniel Gimeno-Traver, while Argentina's Guido Pella ousted sixth seed Fabio Fognini 7-6 (8/6) 1-6 6-1 and Carlos Berlocq saw off Andrey Kuznetsov in straight sets.
