Govortsova put out former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone in her opening match at the clay court event.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Sharapova, a three-time Grand Slam winner, dictated the action off the ground against the erratic Govortsova, eventually winning 6-3 6-3.

BBC: Marion Bartoli defeats Ana Ivanovic at Stanford Classic

The American will next play Olga Govortsova of Belarus, who upset Italian 14th seed Francesca Schiavone with a 6-4 6-4 victory.

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In the Barcelona WTA tournament, Olga Govortsova of Belarus continued her fine run with a hard-fought 7-6 6-7 6-2 win over home player Laura Pous in the second round.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Eighth seed Victoria Azarenka made an early exit after she retired due to a thigh injury when leading Timea Bacsinszky 6-4 2-3, while Ana Ivanovic swept past Olga Govortsova 6-0 7-5.

BBC: Britain's Andy Murray eases past Mathieu at China Open

Third seed Daniel Hantuchova, of Slovakia, gained a 6-2 6-4 victory over Olga Govortsova, of Belarus, while fourth seed Na Li , of China, overcame Russian Yaroslava Shvedova 4-6 6-2 6-0.

BBC: SPORT | Tennis | Cavaday claims second-round spot

Hungary's Agnes Szavay walked into the second round when Olga Govortsova of Belarus retired hurt while trailing 6-3 1-0, and will face third seed Yanina Wickmayer in the second round if the Belgian beats Croatian wildcard Petra Martic.

CNN: Safina backs out of Dubai appearance