Amir Weintraub described his victory over Argentina's Guido Pella in the first round of the Australian Open as the greatest of his ATP career.

There was a great maturity about Weintraub's performance in the straight sets win over Pella who lies more than 100 places above him in the ATP rankings.

"It's still hard to believe this has happened," said Weintraub. "I can’t stop crying, I'm so excited by this victory, which was my best-ever on the circuit.

"I hope I don't wake up. I want to let this dream go on for as long as possible."

Weintraub, who is 26 and from Rehovot, was playing in his first grand slam tournament after coming through three qualifying rounds in Melbourne.

Ranked 196, Weintraub fought harder to overcome the Argentinean than the scoreline suggests. Showing the form which has helped Israel win promotion to the Davis Cup World Group, the Israeli won the first set on a tie-break and shaded the second set 7-5 before cruising home 6-2 in the third.