Caroline Wozniacki beat Zhu Lin 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 in a first round match, that was previously suspended on Tuesday due to rain at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Wozniacki was making his first appearance at Indian Wells in five years
Zhu broke serve in the first game to take a 2-0 lead. Wozniacki won four consecutive games with two breaks of serve to open up a 4-2 lead. At 5-5 Wozniacki saved two break points, that would have seen Zhu serve for the set. The Danish player earned a set point on Zhu’s serve in the 12th game. Wozniacki went up a mini-break twice, but Zhu Lin pulled back on serve both times to draw level to 6-6. Wozniacki clinched the tie-break 8-6 on her fourth set point after over an hour before the match was suspended by rain
The match resumed on Thursday afternoon. Wozniacki broke three times to seal the second set 6-1 on her first match point claiming her first completed win since the US Open. She achieved her only win in three tournaments this year when Magda Linette retired in the first round at the Australian Open.
Wozniacki is 6-6 in six tournaments since her return to the tennis court after a three-year retirement.
“I felt like, going into Australia, I was playing extremely well. Practice, winning sets right and left and doing all the right things. Had I won the second round match against Maria Timofeeva, I felt like the draw was open, so that a big disappointment for me. I am starting to feel my tennis coming back. I just hope my body can hold up and we will see. The sky is the limit”, said Wozniacki.
Japanese qualifier Nao Hibino reeled off ten straight games from 6-2 3-2 to beat Venus Williams 2-6 6-3 6-0.
Hibino came back from 40-0 down to break serve at 3-3 and and earned her second break from 15-40 at 5-3 in the second set. The Japanese player saved three break points in the first game of the third set before breaking three times to seal the third set with a bagel on her third match point. Hibino set up a second round match against Veronika Kudemertova.
Former US Open champion Emma Raducanu advanced to the second round with a 6-2 6-3 win over qualifier Rebeka Masarova in 1 hour and 45 minutes. Raducanu reached the fourth round at Indian Wells last year in her penultimate tournament before undergoing ankle and wrist surgeries.
Raducanu converted her fifth break point to open up a 3-0 lead with a double break in the first set with a backhand down the line. Masarova pulled one of the two break points back in the fourth game and held serve at 15 for 2-3. Ruducanu broke for the third time in the seventh time to open up a 5-2 lead.
Raducanu held two service games from 0-40 down, when she was serving out the first set at 5-2 and when she was consolidating an early break in the second game of the second set. Raducanu broke for the second time to open up a 3-0 lead. Masarova pulled one break back in the fourth game. Raducanu broke serve for the third time on her fourth match point in the ninth game.
Raducanu set up a second round match against this year’s Australian Open semifinalist Dayana Yastremska. Raducanu won her only previous head-to-head match against Yastremska in Portoroz 2022, when the Ukrainian player was forced to retire at 6-2 5-3 down due to a right wrist injury.
Raducanu made eight double faults and had a first serve percentage of 51.9%.
“It was super important for me to get through that. It was one of the trickiest tournaments conditions-wise to play in because it varies so much”, said Raducanu.
