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
Naomi Osaka returns to Sloane Stephens. Pic/AFP
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.
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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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