Sharapova beats Dechy at Indian Wells

Top-ranked Maria Sharapova, the defending champion of the Pacific Life Open, stayed on course to repeat with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Nathalie Dechy of France in the third round Sunday.

Sharapova is playing in her first tournament since early February and continues to struggle to regain her form. She had four double faults and just one ace, and made 47 unforced errors to go with 24 winners in a match that was played in 90-degree heat and lasted 1 hour, 40 minutes. She has made 97 errors in her two wins, overcoming her miscues by playing well on key points.

"I think that's to be expected," she said after moving into the fourth round of this $2.1 million event. "When you don't compete for that amount of time, it's normal. I definitely feel like these matches are getting the rough stuff (out of the way).

"It's just good to be back on court and being in some tight situations. I miss that after a while."

Sharapova had been idle since retiring from her semifinal at Tokyo with a left hamstring strain, and she said some of her service inconsistency stems from the injury.

"In Tokyo I struggled with (the serve) a little bit," she said. "Part of it was probably the leg because that's how I injured it. That limited me from serving a lot in practice."

Sharapova's next opponent will be No. 15 seed Vera Zvonareva, who advanced with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Victoria Azarenko on a day that the top women advanced.