Russians advance in Indian Wells tennis

INDIAN WELLS, Calif., March 17 (UPI) -- Third-round winners in the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, Calif., Sunday included Russians Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Sharapova cruised to a 7-5, 6-3 win over Eleni Daniilidou of Greece and Kuznetsova outlasted Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.

The matches were played on the fifth day of the 12-day event.

In other matches:

American Ashley Harkleroad upset Russian Dinara Safina 7-5, 6-2; India's Sania Mirza beat Israeli Shahar Peer; Ukrainian Alona Bondarenko topped Amelie Mauresmo of France, and Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki defeated Aiko Nakamura of Japan.