Despite a "two out of 10" performance, top seed Arina Rodionova survived a scare before booking her place in the final four at the Australian Open wildcard playoff at Melbourne Park.

Rodionova was pushed to three sets by eighth-seeded Queenslander Olivia Tjandramulia before triumphing 6-3 0-6 6-4.

Ranked world No.120, the Victorian was unhappy with her second set when her game fell away.

"The match was a two out of 10," the 27-year-old said.

"I'm in the middle of my training week and also playing this tournament and I didn't feel the best when I woke up and was pretty sore and needed some pain-killers to get through the morning.

"I started well and had enough energy to play aggressive and use my weapons but then I just died a bit in the second set and my legs were dead and I couldn't do what I do best which is moving.

"I went away for nine games but I'm glad I managed to get back in time to still win the match."

The big-hitting Tjandramulia, 20, got an early break in the third set but Rodionova levelled at 3-3 and then broke her opponent for a 5-3 lead.

She had two match points but lost her serve, only to again break Tjandramulia, who is ranked 390, for the win.

Rodionova said she knew her young opponent could be inconsistent and felt she just needed to be patient with her own game.

"She hits really good shots but I knew at important times she would give me the opportunity to break her serve or get back in the game," Rodionova said.

AAP