A newly-positive Ajla Tomljanović secured “sweet” revenge on a player she lost to just nine days ago to book her place in the second round of the Australian Open for the sixth time. The 31-year-old held off fast-finishing American Ashlyn Krueger, prevailing in a nerve-wracking three-setter, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.

On a successful second day for the local hopes at Melbourne Park, seven Australians had secured places in the second round before the start of the night session – five men and two women.

Tomljanović led 4-0 in the deciding set before the 20-year-old – who beat the Australian in qualifiers for Adelaide just over a week ago – broke back, setting up a tense final few games. After errors on her first two match points, the Australian finally sealed the victory over her 52nd-ranked opponent after 144 minutes on a sunny day in Melbourne.

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“Sometimes you can do everything in the preparation, but it really matters how you come out here and deal with everything that comes your way,” Tomljanović said. “I thought I played against a really tricky player, and having lost to her last week, it felt sweet to play again and get another chance.”

Tomljanović was given a wildcard for the Australian Open after struggling with a knee injury in recent months, but appeared untroubled as she elevated her game in the final set.

“I felt like I needed to be a bit more aggressive and be the one dictating the point,” Tomljanović said. “Because since we play similarly, I think we both don’t like when we are pushed, but it still got tricky in the end even with the 4-0 lead, so just really grateful to be through.”

Tomljanović said she has discovered a new positivity in recent months and admitted she has had a tendency to be negative amid recurring injury struggles.

“I just felt like I struggled so much last year, putting a lot of expectation on myself, and in an unfair way, my knee wasn’t co-operating,” she said.

“I felt so exhausted at one point, and it just didn’t seem fair to myself. Starting in December, I felt like I needed to really make the best of everything, because attitude really is powerful, and you’ve got to provoke your luck as well.”

The former world No 33 now meets 12th-seed Diana Shnaider for the chance to reach the third round at Melbourne Park for the first time. “I want to make second weeks, not third rounds, so I’m not going to put too much pressure on it,” she said.

Twenty-year-old Talia Gibson became the first Australian to reach the second round after she won her first match in the main draw of a grand slam earlier on Monday. She wrested control of the contest against Turkish world No 94 Zeynep Sönmez in the second set and cruised through the decider to win 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-1. The 150th-ranked wildcard meets Spanish 11th seed Paula Badosa in the second round.

Jordan Thompson allayed concerns a recent foot injury will limit his Australian Open tilt with a four-set victory over German Dominik Koepfer. One of the three Australian seeds in the men’s singles draw, the Sydneysider admitted he hasn’t had the best preparation but he “couldn’t be happier” about his first round victory.

“It’s tough enough being an Aussie playing the Australian Open, a little bit more pressure this year [due to his seeding], so it’s good to get through that first match, and hopefully we don’t stop there,” he said.

Tristan Schoolkate, Aleks Vukic, James Duckworth and James McCabe also secured victories on Monday afternoon to continue a strong day for the local contingent. 23-year-old Schoolkate defeated Japan’s Taro Daniel, replicating his result against the same opponent in the first round at last year’s US Open.

Duckworth beat Switzerland’s Dominic Stricker in straight sets and Vukic beat Bosnian Damir Džumhur in five. On the party court McCabe prevailed in three against Spanish teenager Martin Landaluce. Watching on was former rugby league and union player Sonny Bill Williams, who shares a manager with McCabe.