Naomi Osaka wins, Venus Williams upsets Petra Kvitova, Caroline Wozniacki also out
Naomi Osaka got her revenge over Kristina Mladenovic as she kicked off the defence of her Indian Wells title with a solid win, but fellow seeds Petra Kvitova and Caroline Wozniacki crashed out.
World No 1 Osaka was stunned by Mlandenovic in Dubai in February, but she got the better of the Frenchwoman in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open, securing a 6-3, 6-4 victory.
Defending champion @Naomi_Osaka_ moves into the @BNPPARIBASOPEN third round!
Downs Mladenovic, 6-3, 6-4! pic.twitter.com/F7dJzTOJss
— WTA (@WTA) March 10, 2019
“I’ve never been a defending champion before so I was pretty nervous and I’m glad I got the win,” the two-time Grand Slam winner said.
Venus Williams rolled back the years as she beat third seed Kvitova 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.
.@Venuseswilliams earns the biggest upset of the @BNPPARIBASOPEN
Escapes Kvitova, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4! pic.twitter.com/ceM53JeAxe
— WTA (@WTA) March 10, 2019
“She has been playing so well and you never know what’s going to come off her racket,” former world No 1 Williams said after the win.
“I was just happy to have your energy to get pumped up. I just love the battle.”
Former world No 1 and 13th seed Wozniacki also crashed out as she was upset 7-5, 2-6, 7-5 by Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova, who will face Belinda Bencic in the third round after the Swiss beat Alison van Uytvanck 6-4, 6-1.
Fifth seed Karolina Pliskova beat Misaki Doi 6-7 (4-7), 6-1, 6-1, eighth seed Angelique Kerber advanced with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Yulia Putintseva while ninth seed Aryna Sabalenka was a 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 winner over Ajla Tomljanovic.
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