Rogers Cup 2017: David Ferrer, Venus Williams Win, John Isner Upset on Monday

The main draws of the Coupe Rogers in Montreal and Rogers Cup in Toronto opened Monday, but tennis fans will have to wait a little bit longer to see the game's biggest stars north of the border.  

The top eight seeds in the men's and women's draws received byes, so they won't debut until the second round. Still, Nick Kyrgios, John Isner, Gael Monfils, Venus Williams and Dominika Cibulkova were among those who took the court Monday.

Below is a brief overview for how the tournament unfolded on its first day. Results for the men's and women's draws are available on the Rogers Cups' official websites, while the schedules for each tournament are available through the WTA and ATP World Tour.

Men's Draw

Court Central

(16) Nick Kyrgios def. Viktor Troicki, 6-1, 6-2

Gael Monfils def. Steve Johnson, 2-6, 7-6(1), 6-1

Juan Martin del Potro def. (14) John Isner, 7-5, 7-5

Peter Polansky def. Vasek Pospisil, 7-5, 6-2

Banque Nationale

Jared Donaldson def. (13) Lucas Pouille, 7-6(5), 7-6(8)

David Ferrer def. Kyle Edmund, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3

Richard Gasquet def. Brayden Schnur, 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-1

(12) Roberto Bautista Agut def. Tim Smyczek, 7-6(4), 6-1

Court Nine

Adrian Mannarino def. Daniil Medvedev, 6-3, 6-1

Robin Haase def. Albert Ramos-Vinolas, 6-3, 6-3

Benoit Paire def. Donald Young, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4

Diego Schwartzman def. Reilly Opelka, 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-4

Court Five

Mischa Zverev def. Norbert Gombos, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3

Ryan Harrison def. Thomas Fabbiano, 6-3, 7-5

Recap

Monfils needed three sets to dispatch Steve Johnson and advanced to the second round with a 2-6, 7-6(1), 6-1 victory.

The Frenchman recorded 11 aces and won 84 percent of his first-service points, both of which were important given his struggles on second serve. He double-faulted on three occasions and won just eight of his 20 second-service points.

While Monfils wasn't his best, he avoided a repeat of last week's Citi Open, where he fell to Yuki Bhambri in the second round.

Kyrgios, on the other hand, had little trouble taking out Viktor Troicki and beat the 31-year-old Serb 6-1, 6-2.

A hip injury has dogged Kyrgios for much of the year. He said after Monday's match the injury continues to linger.

"I'm feeling it all the time," he said, per Sky Sports. "It's not something that is just going to heal. I can compete, so that's the most I can do at the moment. I just wanted to come out here and try and get the win. I've been struggling the last couple of months."

The Guardian's Bryan Armen Graham was impressed with Kyrgios' performance nonetheless:

In the biggest upset on the men's side, the 14th-seeded Isner fell to Juan Martin del Potro in straight sets, 5-7, 5-7.

Del Potro neutralized the American's big serve by being nearly peerless with his own service game. The 2009 U.S. Open champion won 85 percent of his first-service points and 53 percent of his second-service points. Most importantly, he didn't allow Isner a single break-point opportunity.

Women's Draw

Centre Court

Barbora Strycova def. (13) Kristina Mladenovic, 6-2, 6-3

Varvara Lepchenko def. (12) Jelena Ostapenko, 1-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(5)

(14) Petra Kvitova def. Carla Suarez Navarro, 6-1, 7-6(5)

(9) Venus Williams def. Irina-Camelia Begu, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3

Grandstand

Daria Kasatkina def. Roberta Vinci, 7-6(3), 7-6(1)

(11) Dominika Cibulkova def. Lesia Tsurenko, 7-6(3), 6-4

Sloane Stephens def. Yulia Putintseva, 6-7(4), 6-0, 6-4

Court Four

Naomi Osaka def. Heather Watson, 6-1, 4-1 (retired)

Ekaterina Alexandrova def. Sachia Vickery, 6-1, 7-6(3)

Court One

(15) Anastasija Sevastova def. Lauren Davis, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3

Kirsten Flipkens def. Ana Konjuh, 6-2 (retired)

Daria Gavrilova def. Lara Arruabarrena, 6-3, 6-3

Recap

Monday wasn't a good day to be a seeded player on the women's side, as Kristina Mladenovic and Jelena Ostapenko both lost. Even Cibulkova and Petra Kvitova needed tiebreakers to survive with straight-set victories.

Kvitova rolled through the first set before meeting more resistance from Carla Suarez Navarro in the second. The WTA showed how the Czech was successfully able to work Suarez Navarro around the baseline:

The shot of the day belonged to Darya Kasatkina, who went between the legs to beat Roberta Vinci down the line:

The 20-year-old Russian beat Vinci in straight sets, 7-6(3), 7-6(1). The Rogers Cup is the third straight event in which she has reached the second round after she exited in the first round of three successive tournaments following her Volvo Car Open title in April.

Kasatkina also gained a measure of revenge against Vinci, who earned a three-set victory when the two last met at the Madrid Open in May.

Despite earlier struggles from ranked players, No. 9 Venus Williams prevailed in her match against Irina-Camelia Begu. The American needed three sets but cruised to a 6-3 victory in the decisive one with the match on the line.