Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova preserved her perfect start to the season by easing into the third round of the Pacific Life Open.

The fourth seed easily dismissed French qualifier Stephanie Cohen-Aloro 6-1 6-0 in just 58 minutes in Indian Wells.

Defending champion Daniela Hantuchova launched her defence with a 6-1 6-2 victory over US wildcard Angela Haynes.

And she admitted she had to keep her concentration in the strong winds that swirled around the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

"Obviously, you never know what kind of tennis you're going to produce in these kind of conditions," she said.

"I think against an opponent that didn't give me much rhythm, I handled it pretty well.

"When I begin a tournament, it's like I'm starting from scratch. At the end of the day, numbers are all very relative."

Sharapova, who next faces Greece's Eleni Daniilidou, a 1-6 7-6 6-2 winner over Czech Klara Zakopalova, added: "Now, I'll just have to focus again on my next match."

Hantuchova, who won the tournament for a second time by beating Kuznetsova in last year's final, broke three times in each set to seal victory in just over an hour.

"That felt great," said the Slovakian fifth seed. "It was an incredible feeling to be back on the centre court.

"I wish I could play every match of the year on this court. I don't know what it is. I guess it's the bounce. It's not too slow, not too fast."

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