STANFORD, California (AP) — Russian Maria Sharapova made a triumphant return to hard courts with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Japan's Jie Zheng in the first round of the Bank of the West Classic on Tuesday.

Sharapova reversed a loss to Zheng the last time she played on hard courts at Indian Wells in March.

The fifth-seeded and 15th-ranked Sharapova, who missed six weeks with a right elbow injury, won for the 15th time in her last 18 matches.

Defending champion Marion Bartoli was another of the five seeds to advance, beating American Ashley Harkleroad 6-1, 6-4.

Bartoli, who faces wildcard Ana Ivanovic in the second round, won 81 percent of her first serve points to overwhelm the American, who played her second match on the WTA Tour in two years.

In other first-round matches, sixth-seeded Shahar Peer of Israel beat Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova, 0-6, 6-4, 6-3; No. 7 Yanina Wickmayer of Belgium downed Taiwan's Chan Yung-jan 6-3, 6-4; Belarus' Victoria Azarenka, the eighth seed, topped Japan's Ayumi Morita, 6-0, 6-2; Ukrainian qualifier Olga Savchuk knocked off American Jill Craybas, 6-3, 6-3; Christina McHale of the United States defeated Taiwan's Chang Kai-chen 3-6, 6-0, 6-2, in a match featuring a pair of qualifiers; and Russian Maria Kirilenko beat qualifier Mirjana Lucic of Croatia, 6-1, 6-4.