Kateryna is a dangerous player. She can catch lots of balls and I knew that I had to be focused and just play aggressive.”
Bondarenko, who is ranked 111th in the world, was tied 2-2 in the first set, but Kvitova then grabbed control of the match. Asked about her chances going forward, Kvitova said, “Well, I don’t really care about my chances. I’m glad that I got a wildcard, and to have more matches. I really didn’t stay long in Wimbledon. That’s why I decided to play. I wanted more tournaments before Toronto.”
Kvitova, 27, lost in the second round at Wimbledon last month. She next faces the 18-year-old Bellis, who got past Veronica Cepede Royg of Paraguay 7-6 (7/3), 6-2. Eighth seed Bellis had trouble finishing Cepede Royq off in the opening set.
Bellis took a 5-1 lead and had three set points at 5-2. But Cepede Royq rallied and had two set points herself with Bellis serving at 5-6 before the American took charge and dominated the rest of the way.
Elsewhere, fourth-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia defeated Alison Riske of the United States 6-4, 6-0. The American took a 3-2 lead but Pavlyuchenkova dominated thereafter.