Alize Cornet sprung a surprise in the first round of the Brisbane International as she dumped out seventh seed Elena Vesnina.

Frenchwoman Cornet had been two games away from defeat in the second set, but fought back to claim a 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-5) victory.

"It feels really great to win the first match of 2017, on the first of January, after a thrilling match against Elena," Cornet said.

"It was the worst scenario ever, 7-6 in the third, almost three hours in the match. It was a big fight and I'm happy I'm through. I feel ready for the rest of the tournament."

Third seed Karolina Pliskova did not have the same issues as Vesnina, surging through to the second round by beating Yulia Putintseva 6-3 6-1.

The Czech sent down 12 aces en route to victory, but former Wimbledon finalist Eugenie Bouchard fell at the first hurdle, going down 6-2 2-6 6-1 to Shelby Rogers.

Elsewhere in the draw, Daria Kasatkina beat Irina-Camelia Begu, Misaki Doi overcame Ekaterina Makarova and Christina McHale defeated Sara Errani.