Barty into second round in Malaysia

Ashleigh Barty has delivered a strong first round performance in the Malaysian Open.

Australian Ashleigh Barty has delivered a strong first round performance in the Malaysian Open. (AAP)

Australia's Ashleigh Barty continues to march on in her comeback to tennis.

The 20-year-old Australian made it through her first round match at the Malaysian Open with a 6-3 5-7 6-0 win over American world No.97 Irina Falconi.

Playing her first tournament since the Australian Open, where she made the third round, Barty had to qualify for the tournament and didn't drop a set throughout that period.

She came out in good touch in the first set, before Falconi rallied in the second.

The American broke Barty to take a 5-3 lead and Barty's racquet copped the treatment for the lapse, before she broke back immediately, only to be broken again as Falconi took the match to a decider.

That seemed to sting Barty into action as she delivered some high level tennis to steamroll through the final set in dominant fashion, closing it out 6-0 with an unreturnable serve.

Barty will face either Japanese qualifier Miyu Kato or Spanish second seed Carla Suarez Navarro in the second round.