New Delhi: Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka ousted American player Sloane Stephens 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 during the women’s singles tournament of the Indian Wells Masters 2022 in California, United States, on Friday, March 11, 2022.
Stephens grabbed an early lead and made long rallies and aces to win the opening set 6-3 as former World No.1 committed double faults and struggled to find momentum.
However, Osaka made an aggressive comeback as she served aces and stunned her opponent. She took charge of the sets with an improved defense and made double breakpoints. On the other hand, Stephens missed the opportunity of converting a point in the decider.
The missed opportunity became crucial as Osaka immediately broke the set and stormed into the final set with six consecutive games in her favour. Osaka won the next two sets 6-1, 6-2. Meanwhile, Stephens failed to convert three points throughout the tournament.
World No. 78 Osaka will face Russian No. 21 seed Veronika Kudermetova in a round of 62 on Saturday, March 12, 2022.
(Avya Mathur)