Rusedski, seeded 13th, joined compatriot Tim Henman in moving ahead at the expense of an Australian with his 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (2/7), 7-6 (7/4) victory.

On Tuesday night, Henman, seeded ninth, ousted Mark Woodforde in straight sets in Stuttgart.

Rusedski made life difficult for himself after throwing away a 5-2 lead in the second set and then failing to convert four match points in the ninth game.

The second set eventually went into a tiebreaker, where Rusedski's game temporarily broke down. He dropped lost the first four points before finally registering an ace, 1-4.

The determined Australian levelled the match at one set all, however, when Rusedski put a return long.

In the third set, Rusedski finally secured victory with a service winner after nearly two hours on court.

The Briton had previously beaten Stoltenberg twice with only one loss to the Australian in 1996 at Bournemouth.

Rusedski's year has been compromised by an ankle injury suffered at the Queen's club in London in June.