Naomi Osaka fights ‘crazy’ strong winds at Indian Wells to defeat Sloane Stephens

Naomi Osaka overcame strong desert winds to grab her first career win over Sloane Stephens, fighting past the American 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 in round one at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.

It was Osaka’s first return to the desert competition since 2019 after her win there in 2018.

The 24-year-old had not played a tournament since January when she lost in round 32 at the Australian Open.

The former world No 1 has dropped significantly in her Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) ranking after only playing a handful of events in 2021.

As a result, the four-time Grand Slam singles champion has had her ranking drop to 78 in the world.

On Friday, Osaka was trailing 2-0 in the third set against Stephens before she fought off three break points to hold and begin a run of six straight games to close out the match in less than two hours.

She broke the American three times in the set, including at love in the sixth game.

Japan’s Osaka will now move into round 2 of the BNP Paribas.

“Sloane is such a champion,” Osaka said of her opponent.

“Hopefully, next time we play will be in more ideal conditions,” she added after the pair battled strong winds.

“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 the first time Stephens had lost to Osaka, after three career meetings.

The 28-year-old, the 2017 US Open winner, has her ranking drop to 38 – despite last month’s tournament win at Guadalajara, Mexico.

Nick Kyrgios of Australia