Twice winner Maria Sharapova and reigning champion Flavia Pennetta advanced to the third round of the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday , though in sharply contrasting fashion . Russian Sharapova , the second seed , made a fast start to overpower Belgian Yanina Wickmayer early on but then ran into much stiffer resistance before grinding out a 6-1 7-5 win after one hour and 45 minutes of baseline battle . Fifteenth-seeded Italian Pennetta overcame an initial bout of nerves to finish strong as she launched her title defence with a commanding 6-4 6-2 win over American Madison Brengle in the first match of the day on the stadium court . Maria Sharapova is searching for a third title at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells . Belgian Yanina Wickmayer put up some resistance before bowing out in straight sets . The world No 2 admitted having trouble in the second set before setting up a clash with Victoria Azarenka . Sharapova , champion at Indian Wells in 2006 and 2013 , broke Wickmayer 's serve three times to sweep through the opening set in just over half an hour , a crunching forehand crosscourt winner putting her ahead 6-1 . However , the Belgian was a very different proposition in the second set which went comfortably with serve until a marathon 10th game where Wickmayer saved four match points before holding to level at 5-5 . Sharapova held serve to lead 6-5 and finally converted a sixth match point in the 12th when the Belgian hit a backhand long . 'She 's a tough opponent , ' world No 2 Sharapova said in a courtside interview . 'She hits the ball quite hard and has an unbelievable serve . I started the match well but the second set was a different story . ' Eugenie Bouchard made light work of her second round opponent Lucie Hradecka . The Canadian was ponly on court for just under an hour before breezing into the third round . The Russian will next meet Victoria Azarenka of Belarus , who brushed aside Belgian Kirsten Flipkens 6-2 6-4 . Pennetta , best known for her doubles prowess , broke Brengle 's serve once in a tightly contested opening set and twice more in the second to wrap up victory in 75 minutes at a sun-drenched Indian Wells Tennis Garden . ' I was nervous in the beginning , ' the 33-year-old from Brindisi , a winner of 10 WTA titles , said after ending the match with a rasping forehand crosscourt winner . 'Last year here , I played so well and I have such good memories . This morning I woke up and I was a little bit shaky . So I was trying to be focused on what I had to do , and not rush . ' Pennetta will next face Australian Samantha Stosur , who beat American wildcard Taylor Townsend 6-4 6-2 . Reigning champion Flavia Pennetta got the defence of her title off to a winning start against Madison Brengle . In Saturday 's evening encounter , sixth-seeded Canadian Eugenie Bouchard eased past Czech qualifier Lucie Hradecka 6-2 6-2 . The 21-year-old Bouchard , who reached the last four in Australia and France as well as the Wimbledon final in 2014 , broke her opponent 's serve three times in each set to wrap up victory in under an hour . In other matches , fourth seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark battled past Tunisia 's Ons Jabeur 7-6 ( 3 ) 6-4 and fifth-seeded Serb Ana Ivanovic , the 2008 champion here , hammered Kazakhstan 's Yulia Putintseva 6-3 6-1 .
Maria Sharapova defeated Yanina Wickmayer in the sixth round . Defending champion Flavia Pennetta beat Madison Brengle in Indian Wells . Eugenie Bouchard got her BNP Paribas Open bid off to winning start .