SYDNEY, Australia – Playing her first WTA match of the season, Karolina Pliskova was in fine form against wildcard Ana Ivanovic; the Czech star hit a whopping 14 aces to oust the former No.1, 6-4, 6-2.

Ivanovic was coming into Sydney after taking a surprisingly early loss at the ASB Classic; looking for some extra match play ahead of the Australian Open, the Serb came up against a red-hot Pliskova whom she had never beaten in two previous encounters. Though she managed to exchange breaks with Pliskova in the opening set, the 2008 French Open champion was unable to convert any of the four break point opportunities she had in the second, and fell in just under an hour and 20 minutes.

Up next for Pliskova is either qualifier Lara Arruabarrena or the unseeded and looming Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who reached the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International last week.

Earlier in the day, Caroline Garcia won her first WTA match of the season, but came in buoyed by three match wins earned at last week’s Hopman Cup. Garcia won an all-French encounter on Sunday, edging past Kristina Mladenovic, 7-6(4), 6-4. She’s slated to face top seed Simona Halep, who was forced to withdraw from Brisbane with an Achilles injury.

Two veterans also emerged victorious on Sunday; two-time major champion Svetlana Kuznetsova cruised past local wildcard Tammi Patterson, 6-2, 6-0, in just over an hour.

“I felt a bit tense, but in the end I was better,” the famously blunt Kuznetsova told press after the match.

“I have to be really prepared to play an opponent who you’ve never seen and don’t know how they play. I try to think that it’s interesting to try to figure the player out.

“I prefer to know at least a little bit, but when you know a little bit, the coach will tell you how she hits this shot, or that shot, and you’ll have this, but when you go to the court and she plays completely the opposite. I don’t have to choose!”

Kuznetsova could potentially play former No.1 Jelena Jankovic in the quarterfinals; the Serb took out Coco Vandeweghe, 6-3, 6-4.

“It’s the beginning of the season and I just want to get match tough again,” Jankovic said after the match. “I feel a little bit rusty. I have so many options in my head – I should play this or that – but it gets better over time, and it’s normal after not competing for a month and a half.

A Sydney finalist in 2007, the Serb had lost her last three matches to the American, having last beat her at the 2011 BNP Paribas Open.

“I lost to Coco the last few times we played; she has a big game and she doesn’t really let me play my game. If I’m able to absorb her power and move the ball around and not really give her two of the same ball, I’m in good shape.”

Jankovic will have a completely different opponent in the next round, one of Sara Errani or Carla Suárez Navarro.

2014 Sydney champion Tsvetana Pironkova was in fine form, defeating Lesia Tsurenko, 7-6(6), 6-2, and will play either No.8 seed Belinda Bencic or qualifier Mirjana Lucic-Baroni. The only seed to lose on Sunday was No.6 seed Timea Bacsinszky, who faded after a strong opening set against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, 1-6, 6-1, 6-3.