Grand slam champions Naomi Osaka, Emma Raducanu and Caroline Wozniacki reached the second round of Indian Wells Open on Thursday while former world No.1 Venus Williams was heading for victory before losing the last 10 games to Japan’s Nao Hibino.
Four-time grand slam champion Osaka, who returned to the tour in January after a maternity break, fell behind 1-2 in the first set to qualifier Sara Errani when she misfired an overhead into the net in windy conditions.
But the Japanese settled in from there, using her power to push the Italian around the court and won 10 of the final 11 games to advance 6-3, 6-1.
Former US Open champion Raducanu beat Spanish qualifier Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 6-3 earlier in the day to set up a second-round clash with 30th seed Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine.
Wozniacki, 33, scored her first win in the California desert since 2019, beating Zhu Lin 7-6 (8-6), 6-1 in a match that began on Wednesday before being halted due to rain.
Seven-time grand slam champion Venus looked poised for victory leading 6-2, 3-2 before Hibino turned the tables for a 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 win.
Stan Wawrinka, 38, who was world No.3 a decade ago lost 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-2 to Tomas Machac in the first round.
Nagal out
India’s Sumit Nagal was handed a straight-set 3-6, 3-6 defeat by Canada’s Milos Raonic in the opening round, bringing a swift end to the his campaign after he made the main draw as a “lucky loser” due to Rafael Nadal’s pullout.
