Naomi Osaka battled windy conditions and an in-form Sloane Stephens to earn a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 first round victory at Indian Wells on Thursday. In a showdown of former US Open champions, Osaka struggled in the first set amid the mighty gusts in her first match since January.
After a lacklustre first set, Osaka turned a switch in the second and never looked back.
“I haven’t played in wind in a while so this was very new to me,” Osaka said in an on-court interview on the Stadium Court.
“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.”
Kyrgios comes of age
A smiling, smitten Nick Kyrgios said he has never felt better following his first round win here — and made it clear that girlfriend Costeen Hatzi is a big reason why he feels he has come of age.
The Australian overwhelmed young Argentine Sebastian Baez 6-4, 6-0 in a little over an hour. “I’ve come of age, man,” he added with a smile on Thursday.
“I’m just excited to be back at this tournament.”
