The second day of the BNP Paribas Open was concluded with several big surprises, thus completing the second round lineup. Winners from the day include Annika Beck, who achieved a huge win during the night session, and Jelena Jankovic, who made her record 16th appearance in Indian Wells today.
Beck claims huge win
A fast start to the match for Annika Beck saw her jump out to a 3-1 lead in the opening set as Eugenie Bouchard looked inconsistent on her serves in the opening stages of the match. Nevertheless, the Canadian eventually shifted her focus onto the match and stepped up her game to rattle off five straight games and stole the first set 6-3 after 50 minutes of play.
Not willing to give up easily, the German stormed to a 4-0 lead in the second set within the blink of an eye as Beck saved three break points in a row to hold onto her double break lead. Bouchard got one of the breaks back, giving herself a lifeline in the second set. The Canadian was pulled back by her unforced errors as she soon lost her serve once more and gifted the second set 6-2 to her opponent leveling the match at one-set-all.
Similar to the second set, the German earned a formidable 4-0 lead in the final set as she looked on course for the upset, being two games away from the victory. Despite being pegged back twice in a row, the Canadian continuously handed out unforced errors as she eventually lost the match in three sets after 2 hours and 17 minutes, making a massive amount of 66 unforced errors in the match.
Safarova strolls to the second round
A fast start to the match saw Lucie Safarova break serve in the opening game to take the lead against Lara Arruabarrena, which she consolidated with a comfortable service hold. The Spaniard soon returned level as some inconsistent serving from Safarova caused her to be broken back in the fourth game. A marathon game at 3-3 then saw the Czech break serve again as she prevailed in the 21-points game, regaining the lead. She then consolidated the break and was just one game away from winning the first set, eventually breaking serve to love to be halfway from the victory.
The second set was much more straightforward as she broke serve in the early stages once more, before fending off two break points to consolidate the break. Safarova then had the chance for a double break lead but wasted two break point opportunities to allow Arruabarrena to get onto the scoreboard in the second set. After saving three break points, the former top 10 player held her serve to earn a formidable 4-1 lead.
Arruabarrena then lost her serve yet again to gift Safarova the chance to serve out the match, but the Czech failed to do so as the Spaniard earned one of the breaks back to stay in the match. It proved to be just a consolation game as Safarova broke back in the next game to seal the match in an hour and 31 minutes, setting up a blockbuster meeting with Coco Vandeweghe in the second round.
Jankovic makes a mark in history
Jelena Jankovic sneaked past through American wild card Irina Falconi in three sets, suffering a major scare in her record-breaking 16th appearance in Indian Wells. The Serbian broke serve twice in the first set to take the opening set easily in just 35 minutes and looked on course for yet another routine victory.
Falconi made an immediate fightback as she broke serve in the opening game of the second set, taking the lead early on. After taking a comfortable double break lead, Falconi seemed to lose her focus a little as Jankovic got one of the breaks back to try and stage a comeback. Nevertheless, Falconi eventually leveled the match as she broke serve for the third time in the set, giving herself renewed confidence for the final set.
A topsy-turvy start to the final set saw five consecutive breaks of serve as Jankovic earned the first hold of the final set to open up a 4-2 lead. With the momentum and the lead in her hands, the former world number one sealed up the match in 2 hours and 4 minutes.
Siniakova slithers through
Six consecutive breaks of serve started the match as both Katerina Siniakova and Mona Barthel looked very shaky in their service games before the German finally had the first service hold of the day as she held her serve for a 4-3 lead. Originally having two chances to break for a 5-3 lead, Barthel missed both break points as Siniakova also earned her first service hold of the day to prevent herself from falling behind on the scoreboard. Eventually, Barthel stepped up her game as she broke serve for the fourth time in a row to clinch the first set 6-4.
The second set was much more straightforward in terms of the scoreboard, with one single break of serve deciding the winner of the set as Siniakova made the crucial breakthrough in the seventh game. An early exchange of service breaks in the final set did not help to separate both players as the score was kept very tight, with not more than two games separating them. Nevertheless, the higher-ranked player made the last breakthrough of the match as she broke serve in the ninth game to earn the chance to serve out the match, which she successfully did so.
Rogers overcomes compatriot
Shelby Rogers made a fast start to the match as she broke serve in the opening game, with Jennifer Brady’s serve looking very shaky in the opening moments. Rogers actually had the chance to go up a double break lead but missed three break points to allow Brady to get onto the scoreboard with a narrow hold of serve. That sole break of serve proved crucial as Rogers eventually closed out the first set 6-4 after 45 minutes with some good offensive play, placing herself just halfway from a second round spot.
Similar to the first set, Rogers played her best tennis to make the first breakthrough and earned the early lead, but this time she threw it away in the sixth game and soon found herself down 3-5 as she was broken for the second consecutive time. Failing to serve out the set, Brady allowed Rogers to have a way back into the set as it was eventually brought into a tiebreak to decide its winner. The sole mini break of the tiebreak at 4-3 proved to be very crucial as Rogers took the match after an hour and 49 minutes of play.
Tomljanovic’s comeback cut short
Julia Goerges earned a strong start to the match as she was the one who earned the first break point of the match, but failed to convert it which allowed them to stay level on serve. The German would rue the missed opportunity as Ajla Tomljanovic got the first break of the match, and consolidating it earn a 4-1 lead all of a sudden after saving four break points in the process. Having two more break points for a formidable 5-1 lead, the Croatian-turned-Australian player failed to convert both of them and allowed Goerges a way back into the set as she lost her serve immediately in the next game, returning level on the scoreboard. The set eventually proceeded into an 11th game as both players looked solid on their serves. Goerges made the next breakthrough as she broke serve late in the set at 5-5, and closing out the first set 7-5 after 57 minutes of play.
Heavy strapping on Tomljanovic’s shoulder seemed to take a toll on her as she was broken in the opening game of the second set, falling behind an early deficit. Having a chance to break back at 3-2, Tomljanovic failed to take her chances as she wasted another three break points to gift Goerges the service hold which allowed her to hold onto her lead. Losing her serve once more was the death kill as Goerges strolled to the victory in 94 minutes.
Duque-Marino halts fellow qualifier
An even start to the match saw four consecutive service holds, with Patricia Maria Tig fending off a break point to hold onto her serve, preventing Mariana Duque-Marino from taking the early lead. Nevertheless, it was still the Colombian who made the first breakthrough in the fifth game as she broke serve to get the advantage. However, this time it was four straight service breaks which followed before Duque-Marino had the first hold of service in six games at the most crucial moment, prevailing in a marathon 21-points game to take the first set 6-4, saving five break points in the process. After the 1 hour first set, the second set was much more straightforward as Tig strolled to the second set victory by winning six straight games, gifting a bagel to the Colombian.
The momentum shifted to Duque-Marino in the first game of the final set, with the Romanian giving away her service game to fall behind an early deficit. Games later, Tig broke back to love in the sixth game to return level. Despite having the momentum with her after she returned on serve, Tig had another sloppy service game as she was broken for the second time in the set, with Duque-Marino regaining the lead once more. Eventually, the Colombian served out the match successfully and clinched the match after 2 hours and 12 minutes.
Linette fend off tough American challenge
The first breakthrough of the match went to Magda Linette as Taylor Townsend, the American wild card, lost a 40-15 lead on her serve and gave the service break away. Nevertheless, Townsend managed to make an immediate reply, breaking straight back and leveling the scores. There was a third consecutive break of serve and the Pole regained the lead, and this time she managed to consolidate the break as she held her serve from 15-30 down to place herself in an advantageous situation to close out the first set. Getting to deuce thrice while serving for the set, Linette fended off the challenge from the American wildcard and dealt with the pressure well, clinching the first set 6-4 in 43 minutes.
The qualifier started the second set by earning a break point in the opening game but she failed to convert it and allowed Townsend to narrowly hold her serve. After going up 2-1, the American lost her way from then as Linette rattled off five straight games to seal the match after an hour and 19 minutes.
Other results
In the other matches of the day, Pauline Parmentier outclassed Oceane Dodin in straight sets as her younger compatriot looked very inconsistent on her serve, falling in just 73 minutes. Also, Varvara Lepchenko extended Yaroslava Shvedova’s losing streak to seven straight matches as the American triumphed in three sets, coming from a set and a break down to do so.
Lauren Davis almost wasted a 6-4, 3-0 lead and a 3-1 advantage in the final set as Viktorija Golubic found herself just one game away from victory in the final set, but Davis found her best tennis to eventually prevail in 2 hours and 43 minutes to book a spot in the second round. Former top 10 player Ekaterina Makarova fell to a shock defeat at the hands of Sara Sorribes Tormo as the Russian looked out of sorts during the match, with her serve not working well for her as she was broken a total of six times in the match.
Naomi Osaka outhit compatriot Risa Ozaki in straight sets as her powerful game managed to win her the match, breaking serve four times in total to book a spot in the second round. Also, Peng Shuai got the better of Lesia Tsurenko in a three-set thriller after 2 hours and 18 minutes of play, recovering from a break down twice in the final set to prevail eventually.
Andrea Petkovic benefitted from a retirement by Vania King in the second set while the German was leading 6-0, 2-0 because of an unfortunate left ankle injury for the American. Last but not least, Donna Vekic created a huge upset over home favorite Alison Riske on Stadium 1, with the American making numerous unforced errors to gift the match to the wildcard. Nevertheless, it was a great and spirited performance from the Croatian to take the match and set up a meeting with Simona Halep in the second round.
