Angelique Kerber is up and running for 2017 after a topsy-turvy start to the Brisbane International against local favourite Ashleigh Barty.

World number one Kerber won 6-3 2-6 6-3 on Wednesday, avoiding the kind of banana skin that had tripped up rival Serena Williams earlier in the day in Auckland.

Queensland native Barty, who appears to be focused once more on tennis after a dalliance in franchise cricket last year, was well-backed by a local crowd in Brisbane and five Kerber double faults helped her take set two and put the waft of an upset in the air.

However, Kerber quickly regathered her composure to wrap up victory and set up a quarter-final meeting with Elina Svitolina, who beat both the German and Williams when they respectively topped the rankings in 2016.

It was a good day for seeded players in Brisbane, with Dominika Cibulkova (2), Svetlana Kuznetsova (5) and Roberta Vinci (8) all coming through unscathed against Zheng Shuai, Destanee Aiava and Misaki Doi respectively.