Indian Wells, CA, USA, 6 March 2014 | tennis.com.au

Casey Dellacqua has continued her winning run at the BNP Paribas Open with victory over Christina McHale in the first round of the main draw on Wednesday.

Dellacqua, who won two qualifying matches earlier this week to take her place in the tournament, ground down the American 7-6(4) 6-4.

It was an impressive victory given McHale’s form; the former world No.24 had last week reached her first WTA final in Acapulco.

But she was no match for the 78th-ranked Dellacqua, who secured victory on Indian Wells’ Stadium 1 in one hour and 42 minutes.

The West Australian moves through to a second round match against No.19 seed Kirsten Flipkens, one of the players she beat en route to the fourth round at Australian Open 2014.

Dellacqua will open her doubles campaign alongside Ash Barty in the Californian desert on Thursday; the seventh seeds take on wildcard pairing Martina Hingis and Sabine Lisicki.