Naomi Osaka says she felt like she was ‘fighting for her life’ during her opening win at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on Thursday.
The four-time Grand Slam champion battled back from a set down to defeat Sloane Stephens 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 on what was an extremely windy day with debris being blown around the court throughout the match. Playing in her first tournament since the Australian Open, Osaka won 52% of her service points and broke Stephens eight times. It is the first time she has beaten the former US Open winner after losing to her on two previous occasions.
“Sloane is such a champion,” said Osaka. “Hopefully, next time we play will be in more ideal conditions.”
“But it was great to be out here again.
“I haven’t played in wind like that for a while, so this was very new to me.
“I felt like I was fighting for my life. I was playing against her; I was playing against the wind. It was crazy. I just kept thinking she was going through the same circumstances as me, so I just had to will myself to try as hard as I could.”
It was at Indian Wells where Osaka won her first Tour title back in 2018. Since then, she also reached the fourth round of the tournament in 2019 but missed last year’s draw. The 2020 edition was scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 24-year-old has spiraled down the rankings in recent months to 78th in the world after taking time away from the sport due to personal reasons. After losing in the third round of the US Open, she decided to end her season and only played in nine tournaments during 2021.
“Honestly, I feel like I’m at peace with myself, which I think is a really good feeling to have as a person,” Osaka told reporters earlier this week. “I’m like really grateful [for the fans’ support.] It really meant a lot to me.”
The next test for the former world No.1 will be a clash with 21st seed Veronika Kudermetova who has reached the final of two WTA events already this season in Melbourne and Dubai. It will be the first meeting between the two players.
Elsewhere in Indian Wells, home player Amanda Anisinmova breezed into the second round following a 6-2, 6-2, win over wildcard Emma Navarro. The world No.43 had been working with Darren Cahill but the Tennis Channel reports that the two have gone their separate ways. Although there is yet to be any official confirmation of this. Anisimova will play Leylah Fernandez next in what will be a battle of the two youngest Tour winners of the season so far.
Shelby Rogers came back from a 1-5 deficit in the final set to beat Nuria Parrizas-Diaz 6-1, 5-7, 7-6(3), after almost three hours of play. Meanwhile, there was disappointment for British fans with qualifiers Heather Watson and Katie Boulter losing both of their matches in straight sets.
