Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka wouldn’t be blown off course in her return to Indian Wells, outlasting Sloane Stephens 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 in a blockbuster first-round clash.
Japan’s Osaka, playing her first tournament since a third-round exit at the Australian Open saw her plummet out of the Top-80 in the world rankings, was a break down at 0-2 in the third set, but won the last six games to secure the victory over former US Open champion Stephens at the WTA and ATP Masters event.
In gusting California desert winds, Osaka saved three break points in the third game of the third set to launch her final rally of a match that featured a string of momentum shifts. She polished it off by breaking Stephens at love in the final game. “I felt like I was fighting for my life,” she said.
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