INDIAN WELLS, UNITED STATES (AFP) - Top seed Serena Williams stepped up her comeback from a 14-year Indian Wells boycott by storming into the fourth round with a 6-2, 6-0 demolition of error-prone Zarina Diyas on Sunday.

The 33-year-old American will face either compatriot Sloane Stephens or two-time Grand Slam winner Svetlana Kuznetsova in the next round in the two-week hardcourt tournament in the California desert.

World No. 1 Williams needed just 53 minutes to dismiss Diyas, blasting six aces and breaking the world No. 32 Diyas six times in front of a crowd of 10,500 at the Tennis Garden stadium.

Diyas had seven double faults and committed a rash of unforced errors, especially in the final game, when she had three in a row to bow out in calamitous fashion.

Williams is playing in her first tournament since winning a sixth Australian Open crown and a 19th Grand Slam title in January.