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Australian Ajla Tomljanovic has battled back from being a point from defeat twice to win her first round match at the WTA Tour's Silicon Valley Classic.

Ajla Tomljanovic has fought back from being a match-point down twice to win her opening round match at the WTA Tour's Silicon Valley Classic in California.

The Australian dropped the first set in just 25 minutes and was on the brink when Amanda Anisimova served for the match in both the second and third sets but somehow carved out a 1-6 7-5 7-5 victory.

World No.50 Tomljanovic converted on just six of 22 break-point opportunities in the 2 hour 10 minute match but dug deep when it mattered most.

"I was fortunate to come back from a few match points down, but I thought she played some really great tennis at times. I'm happy to be through," Tomljanovic said in her on-court interview.

Anisimova broke the Tomljanovic serve six times herself but ultimately it was 40 unforced errors from the American, who also struck 40 winners, that proved her downfall.

"I stayed mentally tough," Tomljanovic said.

"I didn't give up even though I was down 6-1, 5-3 pretty comfortably, and I definitely found ways to win today.

"Even though I didn't feel great in the first set, I knew my tennis was there if I just kept hitting out and finding my spots, which I did."

Tomljanovic will face eight-seeded Yulia Putintseva in the round of 16 after the Kazakh defeated Donna Vekic 7-5 6-3 earlier in the day.

At the Thoreau Open in New Hampshire, Storm Sanders cruised past Alycia Parks 6-2 6-3 to advance to the second round of the WTA Challenger series event.

The ninth-seeded Australian left-hander will face Poland's Magdalena Frech for a spot in the quarter-finals.