RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Brazilian qualifier Paula Goncalves is through to her first WTA quarterfinals after upsetting the No.2 seed Johanna Larsson 6-4, 6-4.

Playing on the smaller Court 1 of the Jockey Club Brasileiro, Gonçalves channeled the Brazilian fans’ energy to fuel her to the biggest win of her career.

“This stadium is small so the crowd feels very near to you,” she told RioOpen.com after the match. “This is great because I can feel the energy of the fans – this helps me even more.”

Galvanized by the support of the enthusiastic home crowd, Gonçalves didn’t lose her nerve when the Swede broke her serve to start the set 3-1. Instead she broke back twice, sending Larsson on the run with her powerful groundstrokes and taking the first 6-4.

Larsson opened the second set with another break but Gonçalves broke her right back, leveling the score. A net cord on match point sealed the result and kept Brazilian hopes for a home champion alive – the world No.285 is the last Brazilian player left in the Rio Open draw.

“All of the pressure was against her,” Gonçalves said of playing Larsson. “I came here very calm, like I did from the first game of qualifying. It has been a week where my tennis came together, so I just gonna take advantage of this moment and keep going.

“Beating players at her level, inside the Top 50, shows that it’s possible for me to dream bigger.”

No.3 seed Danka Kovinic advanced comfortably against Sílvia Soler-Espinosa, winning 6-2, 6-3 against the Spaniard.

“I expected a longer and tougher match, but I played really good so I’m glad that I finished after maybe a bit more than an hour,” Kovinic said after the match. The Montenegran player struggled in her previous match against the intense heat and humidity of Rio de Janeiro.

“I really feel better today. I played good because I had two days off. I think that helped for me a lot to adjust to this weather.”

Also into the quarterfinals are No.6 seed Lara Arruabarrena and Petra Martic.