Sharapova has taken her record to 15-0 in 2008

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 second seed Svetlana Kuznetsova made quick work of Russian compatriot Elena Makarova, winning 6-1 6-1.

Sharapova, 20, went into the tournament boasting a 14-0 record in 2008, including her win in the season's opening Grand Slam event in Melbourne, a victory in Doha in February and two Fed Cup match wins.

606: DEBATE I am just impressed how Sharapova has started 2008, she looks a much better player. duggietoo (U7210677)

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."

It was an incredible feeling to be back on the centre court Defending champion Daniela Hantuchova

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."

In other matches, former world number one Amelie Mauresmo of France, seeded 17th, opened her campaign with a 6-2 6-4 victory over Romanian Edina Gallovits.