Miami  - Serena Williams played her first match in nearly a month to reach the third round of the Miami Masters 6-2, 6-3 over fellow-American Alexa Glatch on Saturday.

The world number one was back on court after completing her annual pout by skipping this month's other big event in Indian Wells, where she and her sister Venus claim racial discrimination due to crowd jeers nearly a decade ago.

The 2001 incident still burns brightly for the Williams pair, who have vowed never to return to the California desert despite losing hundreds thousands of dollars in various sanctions from the WTA.

The Florida-based pair are in their element in Miami, where Serena has won five titles including the last two editions.

Coming off a first-round bye, the top seed overwhelmed the teenaged Glatch, ranked 124, firing a dozen winners and breaking the 19-year-old six times.

Williams plays a sparse schedule by choice in defiance of WTA regulations to try and impose consistency on the top 10. She is competing in only her fifth event of the season where she won the Australian Open.

Polish 10th-seed Agnieszwa Radwanska advanced over Thai veteran Tamarine Tanasugarn, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, while French 14th seed Alize Cornet put out Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova 6-4, 7-6 (7-4).

China's pair of Li Na and Peng Shuai moved through, with Li beating Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak 7-5, 6-3 and Peng stopping Marta Santangelo 7-5, 6-3.

On the men's side, Spain's eighth seed Fernando Verdasco beat German Benjamin Becker 6-3, 6-4 with the Australian Open semi-finalist advancing unhindered after going down a break in the first game.

Compatriot David Ferrer, the number 11, defeated American John Isner 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. Serb Viktor Troicki toppled 14th seed David Nalbandian as the Argentine's patchy form produced a second opening-match loss in the past three tournaments.

Unfancied Federico Gil of Portugal felled Croatian serving giant Ivo Karlovic 6-4, 6-4 while Spain's Feliciano Lopez beat another young American in Sam Querrey, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5, 6-2. (dpa)