Bautista Agut, a semi-finalist at Wimbledon last month, triumphed 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and two minutes on day one of the Association of Tennis Professionals World Tour Masters 1000 event at the Canadian city’s IGA Stadium.

His opponent in the last 32 will be the winner of tomorrow’s match between Italy’s Marco Cecchinato and Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman.  

Among the other players winning in the first round today was 17^th-seeded home favourite Milos Raonic, who defeated France’s Lucas Pouille 6-4, 6-4.

There were also victories for 13^th-seeded Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili and three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland.

Basilashvili came from behind to overcome Serbia’s Dušan Lajović 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, while Wawrinka claimed a 6-4, 6-4 win over Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov.

Action also began today at the Women's Tennis Association Premier 5 event at the Aviva Centre in Toronto.

Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki, the 2010 champion and 2017 runner-up, had no problems in beating Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva 6-4, 6-2.

"The last time I was here [in Toronto] it was really my first time I ever won a match here," Wozniacki, the 15th seed, said.

"So, baby steps, and I made it all the way to the finals, which was a great result.

"I'm just happy to be here and win another match here and get a good start, and we'll see how far it goes."

Notable first-round casualties included world number 14 Johanna Konta of Great Britain and five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova of Russia on her return to action.

Konta lost 3-6, 2-6 against Ukrainian teenager Dayana Yastremska, while Sharapova – a wildcard entrant after spending most of the year battling shoulder injuries – fell to a 6-4, 3-6, 4-6 defeat at the hands of Estonia's Anett Kontaveit.

Competition in both Montreal and Toronto is due to continue tomorrow.