The 19-year-old Russian beauty hammered 29 winners but looked rusty in making 50 unforced errors and served 10 double faults in the one hour, 44 minute second round match.

Sharapova did not speak after her match telling tournament organizers she was too ill.

But she did release a statement through her agent Max Eisenbud saying, "I'm just happy to get through the match because it is first time I have played in four weeks."

The 96-player women's draw only gets tougher from here and Sharapova will have to try to get better fast if she is to defend the title she won last year by beating compatriot Elena Dementieva 6-1, 6-2 in the final.

Sharapova advances to the third round where she will meet France's Nathalie Dechy who surprised Italian 31st seed Flavia Pennetta 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, 6-2.

Not only is she the reigning champ, but Sharapova also needs to reach the semifinals in order to retain her world number one ranking.

She has not played this year since being forced to pull out of a tournament in Tokyo last month a left hamstring injury.

Sharapova won Friday's first set in a tie break but she needed three challenges of bad lines calls to win 7-5.

Her final challenge came on a kick serve that was called out by the linesman which was changed to an ace to get Sharapova to set point.

There is a Sharapova look-a-like contest on Saturday in which seven California beauties will vie to see who resembles the Russian megastar the most.

They are all blonde, leggy and tall, and for a while in the first set it appeared one of them might have been standing in for error-prone Sharapova on the stadium court.

Sharapova committed nine of 10 double faults in that first set against Krajicek before settling down and finding her serve in the second.

The 96-player men's draw kicked off Friday with former World No 1 Gustavo Kuerten seeing his comeback cut short, losing 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 in a first round match to Juan Martin del Potro.

Kuerten, who has battled chronic hip problems since winning the last of his three French Open titles in 2001, said the disappointment of losing the first set in a tie-break got to him.

"I had my chances but instead I got frustrated and couldn't get it going," Kuerten said.

The 30-year-old Kuerten had six aces but converted just two of five break point chances in the one hour, 28 minute match.

"I am still trying to raise my game. Sometimes now I am thinking too much. It is not as natural as it was for me before," Kuerten said.

Martina Hingis breezed through her opening match by beating Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki 6-1, 6-3.

With the victory, the 1998 Indian Wells champion Hingis books a third round date with Austria's Yvonne Meusburger who rallied to beat Roberta Vinci 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Another former Indian Wells champion, Daniela Hantuchova, advanced to the next round with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 win over Kaia Kanepi of Estonia. Slovakia's Hantuchova next faces Francesca Schiavone of Italy who beat Slovakia's Martina Sucha 6-4, 6-4.

Lucie Safarova overcame some early-round jitters and six double faults to beat Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3, 6-7 (2/7), 7-6 (7/4).