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Sharapova wins 15th straight match
Kuznetsova saved the three break points she faced and broke Makarova five times en route to her victory.
Maria Sharapova won her 15th straight match without a loss this year, overpowering French qualifier Stephanie Cohen-Aloro 6-1 6-0 in the wind-blown second round of the Pacific Life Open.
The fourth-seeded Sharapova, the 2006 champion, had little trouble with Cohen-Aloro, breaking her serve five times and losing only 24 points in the 58-minute match.
"You never know what kind of tennis you're going to produce in these conditions, but against an opponent that didn't give me much pace, I think I handled it pretty well," Sharapova said.
The Russian star joined second-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova and defending champion Daniela Hantuchova in the third round. Kuznetsova beat Russian countrywoman Ekaterina Makarova 6-1 6-1 in 53 minutes, and the fifth-seeded Hantuchova opened her title defence with a 6-1 6-2 victory over wildcard Angela Haynes.
Kuznetsova saved the three break points she faced and broke Makarova five times en route to her victory.
"It was tough with the wind, but I was able to play well on the key points," Kuznetsova said.
Hantuchova won 22 of 23 points on her first serves in the match and lost just 12 total points in the opening set. The 5-foot-11 right-hander, also the 2002 Indian Wells winner, did not face a break point.
