The third seed made light work of Sakkari, recording a 6-4, 6-1 win to progress at Hard Rock Stadium.

Kvitová, a two-time Grand Slam champion, will next face Donna Vekić after the Croatian overcame Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain 6-3, 6-3 at the Women's Tennis Association Premier Mandatory tournament.

Venus Williams, who beat Kvitová at Indian Wells earlier this month, is through to the second round after she ousted Serbia's Dalila Jakupović 7-5, 6-3.

Caroline Garcia of France, the 19th seed, joined Kvitová in round three having defeated three-time Miami Open winner Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-3, 6-4.

Victory saw Garcia reach the third round for the first time and she will take on 15th seed Julia Görges of Germany, a 6-4, 7-5 winner over Slovakia's Magdaléna Rybáriková.

"You don’t really have a choice against someone like Azarenka," Garcia said. 

"Maybe she’s not playing as she was when she was number one, but she is a great player."

In the men's draw, David Ferrer of Spain won his first Association of Tennis Professionals Masters 1000 match for 12 months as he booked his place in the second round at the expense of American Sam Querrey.

Ferrer, who turns 37 in two months and is preparing to retire, beat Querrey 6-3, 6-2.

Feliciano Lopez needed three sets to reach the next round as he edged out Frenchman Benoît Paire 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.

Action in both the men's and women's draws continues tomorrow.