|
Osaka, a former world No. 1 who owns four major titles, was
playing her first match since losing in the third round of the
Australian Open in January. A hiatus to focus on her mental
health in addition to injuries have limited her tournament
activity in the past year, leaving her unseeded in Indian Wells.
After emerging with the victory on a windy day, Osaka said,
"Hopefully, next time we play will be in more ideal conditions,
but it was great to be out here again."
Stephens, the 2017 U.S. Open champion, was coming off her first
tournament title in almost four years. She won the Abierto Akron
Zapopan in Guadalajara, Mexico, last month but then continued
her frustrating history at the BNP Paribas Open. Stephens has
never advanced past the quarterfinals in 11 appearances at
Indian Wells.
Osaka struggled with her serve early in the Thursday match, as
Stephens earned breaks on four of Osaka's five service games in
the opening set. Osaka lost her serve just once the rest of the
way.
Overall, Osaka faced 17 break points but saved 12 of them. She
converted eight of her 14 break opportunities.
"I haven't played in wind in a while, so this was very new to
me," Osaka said postmatch. "I felt like I was fighting for my
life. I was playing against her, I was playing against this
wind. It was crazy.
"But I kept thinking that she was going through the same
circumstances as me, so I just have to will myself to try as
hard as I could."
Osaka earned a second-round matchup against Russia's Veronika
Kudermetova, the No. 21 seed. The tournament's top 32 seeds all
received first-round byes.
Other first-round winners Thursday included three players from
the Czech Republic: Tereza Martincova, Katerina Siniakova and
Marie Bouzkova.
Also advancing were Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva, Belgium's
Alison Van Uytvanck, Poland's Magdalena Frech, Italy's Jasmine
Paolini, Australia's Daria Saville and Astra Sharma, Slovakia's
Kristina Kucova, Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk, Slovenia's Kaja Juvan,
Belarus' Aliaksandra Sasnovich, and the United States' Shelby
Rogers and Amanda Anisimova.
--Field Level Media
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
|
