Top seed Kerber was taken to three sets by Ysaline Bonaventure in her first grass-court match of 2019, but she was a much more comfortable winner on Thursday against a rival playing her first tournament since January.
Sharapova, whose lengthy absence had been due to a shoulder injury, simply made too many errors, enabling the consistent Kerber to triumph 6-2 6-3.
In an on-court interview, the German said: “It’s always tough to play against Maria, especially in the second round.
“If you have a lot of wins before Wimbledon, this is the goal. It gives me a little bit more confidence for the next matches and the next days before I go to London.”
Kerber will take on sixth seed Caroline Garcia in the quarter-finals. Garcia needed three sets to overcome Spanish wildcard Paula Badosa.
French Open semi-finalist Amanda Anisimova, 17, faces an intriguing last-eight tie against Belinda Bencic, another player to have enjoyed notable success as a teenager.
Anisimova defeated Alize Cornet 6-2 6-4, while Bencic - who reached the 2014 US Open quarter-finals at the age of 17 - was 5-7 6-3 3-1 up on Shelby Rogers when the American was forced to retire.
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