Williams post first win back at BNP Paribas Open

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Zarina Diyas had an impressive start to her night but couldn’t pull off a big defeat at the BNP Paribas Open Thursday night. Serena Williams in her return to the sport got the straight sets win winning 7-5, 6-3 on Stadium One at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

The two met twice and once at Indian Wells three years ago where the former world number one had the Kazak beaten and did it again in Miami in 2016. Williams had been out of the sport for some time dealing with the birth of her daughter and injuries. The pressure was on her to perform well despite being away from the competition for some time. Diyas proved herself worthy staying active on the WTA Tour and put in a lot of work to prepare for her first night match in the desert on the biggest stage.

Diyas gained a footing with William’s return not working out right away. The former world number one rallied back to deuce but the second serve did not work leading to Diyas holding her opening serve. Williams followed suit with the hard hits taking the Kazak out of trying for the break. Diyas began to rely on Williams missing every now and then giving her another successful hold. They went four games on the path until Williams turned the tables with forced errors by Diyas to create the first break chance. The 24-year-old battled back to deuce where after three breaks she managed to hold serve once more.

Seven games went into the books with neither player giving up their ground to the other. When Diyas achieved her hold in the seventh, her coach Antonini Roberto came out on court to give her pointers on how to how to get her opponent out of her comfort zone, challenge her physically and do work on her own second serve. She followed the advice and used her aggression and control to maintain her grip on the set pressuring Williams to follow along. With the end of the first fast approaching, the 36-year-old found herself in trouble but held with two winners that sent the two into extra frames.

The first break went to Williams who gained an edge in the 11^th giving her a shot at ending the set in her favor. She began with a 116mph serve that gave her her third ace of the match before opening three set points. She handed Diyas one on a double fault and watched as the Kazak landed a winner away from the American. She gave herself a shot at holding with a three-shot rally that gave her the lead after 50 minutes. Williams maintained the offense above 70 percent that carried along her struggling return that Diyas had beaten for a time. Despite her attempts, the 24-year-old would try to force the night to go long and fight on.

The second break started with breaks that went three games with Diyas not in control. She took another pep talk with Roberto that led to her being able to break the American superstar. Diyas overcame a 0-40 deficit to force deuce with the former number one. After a few breaks, a double fault from the Kazak ended her fight back to gain a hold handing Williams the lead after five.

She remained out front through seven where Williams put down the win in the eighth on serve. She landed her fourth ace which was shown to be on the line giving Diyas very little opportunities to battle back. She served to stay alive in the match but the unforced errors gave Williams her shot at match point. It ended in a seven-shot rally with Diyas firing one wide of the side line that closed the set out n 1 hour and 33 minutes. She’ll face Kiki Bertens in the second round that will take place Saturday night.

Osaka stays in front to upset Sharapova at BNP Paribas Open

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Maria Sharapova continued to struggle on the courts that led to her demise at the BNP Paribas Open Wednesday night. The Russian’s second serve struggled against Naomi Osaka whose hard serve had dominant moments that led to her 6-4, 6-4 win at Stadium One at Indian Wells Tennis Garden. It was the third consecutive match defeat for the former number one in what was a tough return to the desert.

This was the first time the two stars met and a challenge for the Japanese star with Sharapova making her return for the first time in two years. Since dealing with her suspension, the 30-year-old has climbed back significantly in the ranks and looks to attempt to become champion since her last title win in 2013. Osaka made the third-round last year but hadn’t faced anyone with a high performance in the tournament. With coach Sascha Baijin in her corner, his experience of watching Sharapova play against his former hitting partners would be of an assist to make it a challenge under the lights.

Osaka followed the path of her coach and took a run at dominating Sharapova early with the big forehand. It set her on a 3-0 run where it looked as if the Japanese star would nail down the double break. Unwilling to let that happen, the former number one etched out her first win of the set to get herself on the board. After saving herself from the dreaded bagel, Osaka made it 4-1 nailing a big forehand winner beating Sharapova. Giving her opponent very little opportunities, the 20-year-old attempted to make it hers in the sixth but a service hold from Sharapova extended the night.

The Russian made it a serious comeback as she fought in the seventh to break Osaka and sit a game down of leveling the set. She succeeded in leveling the score at four all before Osaka made her serve count in the ninth to sit up 5-4. The pressure showed in Sharapova’s serve as she double faulted a fourth time setting up the 20-year-old with set point. Osaka spent very little time getting the job done to complete the set in 45 minutes. Despite having a troubling second serve, Osaka managed her offense and returned big on the second serve landing 9 of 12 against Sharapova who had very little response against the heavy hitter.

She struggled as Osaka was slowly taking steps closer to winning the match. She got into a two all tie but the Japanese star gained a couple of key breaks to lead 4-2. A bad service game from Osaka opened the door for the former number one who won the game after two breaks on deuce. She added another on serve that had her hunting for the first lead of the match. Game nine saw the two fighting to control their second serve and make a push to win the set. Osaka struck her chance first hanging on to her serve with Sharapova playing to stay alive in the match.

The final game was an up and down battle but mistakes from Sharapova led the two to deuce where the 20-year-old put a grip on deuce to win the match in 1 hour and 35 minutes. Osaka nailed down the serve in the late stages that got her a big win early in the tournament despite having four double faults. Sharapova’s second serve was below expectations with six double faults which came as a surprise to many.

While she tries to figure out the issues, the Japanese power hitter would go into the second round to meet Agnieszka Radwanska on Friday.

Vickery dispatches Bouchard in straight sets at Indian Wells.

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Eugenie Bouchard didn’t have the start she wanted to at the BNP Paribas Open Wednesday night. The former world number five had a tough day with the second serve that ended her singles run losing to American Sachia Vickery 6-3, 6-4 on Stadium Court One at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

This was a first meeting between the two stars who have experience playing in the California desert conditions. With the first round in high heat conditions, the speed of the ball would be fast for the players taking center stage at the tournament. Bouchard hoped to take care of business since her quarterfinal finish at Taipei and a first round loss at Indian Wells last year. Vickery returned to the main draw for the first time in three years with the hope of besting her second-round finish back in 2015.

She opened the match with a break in the second that took them to deuce with an error from the Canadian. She made it 2-1 holding serve in the third putting together a solid offense. Bouchard leveled the set at two all but fell back with Vickery leading the way 3-2. She got another break on the 24-year-old who gave up another game on serve. Breaks began to run for the two that gave the Canadian a shot at regaining lost opportunities.

Vickery built up a stance that came up huge in the eighth as the American teen took one from Bouchard on a great finish to the rally for game point. Serving for the set, Vickery went to deuce but watched as Bouchard landed another unforced error long of the baseline to end the first in 38 minutes. Plenty of missed chances led to the demise of the set as she missed three chances to gain break points on the teen and had a second serve below 10 percent. Vickery’s didn’t have a dominant moment either but the problems of her opponent led her to dictate.

Bouchard tried to bring something together with her hold of serve but as the 18-year-old got back on the ball, she took off and gained a break in the third to lead once more. Bouchard earned a shot and succeeded at leveling the set but another break didn’t help her cause. Vickery gained an edge taking another break from Bouchard taking the lead back. The 24-year-old gave it her all but the problems were hard to hold back during critical moments.

It was a 4-2 run for Vickery who had her sights on the match win with Bouchard on the ropes. The Canadian’s second serve was still a problem landing 3 of 16 through six and trouble on her return game. She battled in the seventh to keep her hopes up but she found herself down 0-40 in the eighth game losing on a winner from Vickery landing out of reach. Bouchard served to stay alive doing so with some aggression sitting a game down. The teen had a shot at serving it out for the match and gained triple break point winning on an unforced error that ended her tournament for Bouchard in 1 hour and 29 minutes.

“I just tried to play smart against her and take my chances when I had the opportunity,” Vickery said to Andrew Krasny after the match. She’ll have an even bigger challenge on her hands as she faces Garbine Muguruza in the second round Friday. “She’s tough,” Vickery said. “I’m just gonna try to take in everything I can from today and try to be ready for the next match physically and mentally.”