Successful starts for Sabalenka and Gauff at the WTA 1000 in Indian Wells
The favorites are making their presence known at the start of the tournament in Indian Wells. After defending champion Iga Swiatek advanced to the round of 16 the day before, her two main rivals on the WTA tour, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff, aimed to join her at this stage of the competition.
The world number one faced a tricky second-round match against McCartney Kessler. The American, who won the title in Hobart at the start of the season, had previously defeated Amanda Anisimova and Coco Gauff in Dubai and arrived with confidence after an easy victory over Anna Blinkova in her previous match.
This encounter was no walk in the park for the 2023 finalist, who was shaken in the first set by a player with a steady serve.
Equally solid on her own serve, Sabalenka, who did not concede a single break point, took some time to figure out Kessler's service game.
After winning the first set in a tiebreak, Sabalenka finally managed to break early in the second set and held her serve until the end. In 1 hour and 32 minutes, Sabalenka triumphed (7-6, 6-3) and will face Lucia Bronzetti, who defeated Magdalena Frech in straight sets, for a spot in the round of 16.
On her part, Coco Gauff had a much tougher time and even gave herself a scare against Moyuka Uchijima. Leading 4-0 and serving for the match in the third set, the American, who had suffered three consecutive defeats since January, eventually pulled through mentally on her fifth match point (6-4, 3-6, 7-6).
Without necessarily convincing and after showing continued struggles on serve (5 double faults, 8 breaks conceded), Gauff secured the win. In the third round, Coco Gauff will face Maria Sakkari, last year's finalist in California.
The Greek player, clearly comfortable in this tournament, began her campaign with an easy victory over world number 63 Viktoriya Tomova, winning 6-0, 6-3.
Among other notable results from the night, Emma Navarro saved two match points against Sorana Cirstea (3-6, 6-1, 7-6), Belinda Bencic defeated Amanda Anisimova (6-4, 6-7, 6-1), Jasmine Paolini overcame young Iva Jovic (7-6, 1-6, 6-3), and Daria Kasatkina staged a comeback against Sofia Kenin (3-6, 7-5, 6-4).
