Charleston, SC, United States, 4 April 2019 | tennis.com.au

Ajla Tomljanovic has progressed to the third round of the Volvo Car Open following a straight-sets dismissal of Slovene Tamara Zidansek.

Tomljanovic, the 14th seed, won 7-5 6-2 in one hour and 20 minutes on Wednesday.

The victory sets up a meeting in the last 16 with No.1 seed Sloane Stephens, who a day earlier struggled to victory in two tiebreaks over Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo.

Tomljanovic, currently ranked 39th, is enjoying a strong run of form; the Australian has won 11 of 16 matches since the Australian Open.

In the same timespan, she has improved her ranking by 10 spots.

However, she faces a stern test against Stephens, who won the Charleston title in 2016 and who owns a 4-0 winning record over Tomljanovic.

Tomljanovic and Stephens will clash in a Thursday night match on the tournament’s stadium court.