Pliskova, playing in her first tournament since her shock second round defeat at Wimbledon, struggled with a misfiring first serve and was guilty of some lapses in concentration. However, the lanky Czech was never seriously threatened as she disposed her 19th ranked Russian opponent in a tidy 70 minutes.
“I had a little bit (of nerves) before the match but during the match I felt much better especially at the end,” Pliskova said.
“I think it was not the best tennis from my side but I was trying to improve in the match. I’m definitely happy I am through to the next round, the first match is always tough.”
A star-studded day with fourth-ranked Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza taming Belgian qualifier Kirsten Flipkens 7-5, 6-2. Second seed Simona Halep took care of surprise Wimbledon semi-finalist Magdalena Rybarikova with a relatively straightforward 6-3, 6-4 win, while third seed German Angelique Kerber outlasted Donna Vekic 6-4, 7-6(5).
American Venus Williams, playing in her first tournament since reaching the final at Wimbledon, again had to battle to advance as she defeated 21-year-old Katerina Siniakova 7-5, 7-5. The 37-year-old will next face Elina Svitolina. American teenager Catherine Bellis continued her brilliant form on the North American hardcourts by taking down eighth seeded Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 7-5 to reach the third round. The 18-year-old arrived in Toronto after reaching the semi-finals in Stanford last week.
Kuznetsova departed along with her 16th seeded compatriot Elena Vesnina, who suffered a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 loss to Australian qualifier Ashleigh Barty, while Czech Lucie Safarova overcame 11th seeded Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 6-4.
In another upset, British seventh seed Johanna Konta was worn down by last week’s Citi Open champion Ekaterina Makarova 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-3.
Tenth seed Agnieszka Radwanska cruised easily past Timea Babos 6-0, 6-1, while Petra Kvitova was eliminated by Sloane Stephens 7-6(4), 3-6 ,6-2.
Results
(x-denotes seeded player):
Second round: Angelique Kerber (GER x3) bt Donna Vekic (CRO) 6-4, 7-6 (7/5); Karolína Plísková (CZE x1) bt Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) 6-3, 6-3; Naomi Osaka (JPN) bt Anastasija Sevastova (LAT x15) 6-3, 6-4; Agnieszka Radwanska (POL x10) bt Tímea Babos (HUN) 6-0, 6-1; Sloane Stephens (USA) bt Petra Kvitova (CZE x14) 7-6 (7/4), 3-6, 6-2; Lucie Safarova (CZE) bt Dominika Cibulkova (SVK x11) 6-2, 6-4; Ekaterina Makarova (RUS) bt Johanna Konta (GBR x7) 5-7, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3; Venus Williams (USA x9) bt Katerina Siniaková (CZE) 7-5, 7-5; Ashleigh Barty (AUS) bt Elena Vesnina (RUS x16) 6-3, 5-7, 6-4; Garbine Muguruza (ESP x4) bt Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) 7-5, 6-2; Catherine Bellis (USA) bt Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS x8) 6-4, 7-5; Caroline Garcia (FRA) bt Varvara Lepchenko (USA) 6-1, 6-4; Simona Halep (ROM x2) bt Magdaléna Rybáriková (SVK) 6-3, 6-4