Shock defeat for Sharapova

NAOMI Osaka beat fivetime Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova in straight sets in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open.

In a first meeting between the pair, the 20-year-old overcame the Russian 6-4 6-4 at Indian Wells.

Osaka surged to a 2-0 lead i n the first set as Sharapova struggled to find consistency with her serve and made too many unforced errors to give her opponent any trouble.

By the second set, Osaka again gained an early lead as breaks went back and forth. However, at 5-5, the pressure appeared to get to the former world No 1 as she double-faulted to hand the initiative to Osaka.

Another unforced error from Sharapova’s backhand sealed the set and the win for Osaka, who will now face former world No 2 Agnieszka Radwanska in the second round.

Eugenie Bouchard suffered a shock defeat as Sachia Vickery reached the second round with a 6-3 6-4 victory, and Belinda Bencic saw off Timea Babos i n three sets.

The Canadian f ought back after dropping the first set 6-1 to seal the win 6-1 7-6 (7/4) after two hours and 23 minutes, setting up a second-round match against Jelena Ostapenko.

There were also wins for Sofia Kenin, Aryna Sabalenka, Marketa Vondrousova, Petra Martic, Kaia Kanepi, Kristyna Pliskova, Maria Sakkari, Samantha Stosur, IrinaCamelia Begu, Qiang Wang, Yulia Putintseva, Amanda Anisimova and Caroline Dolehide.

Maria Sharapova made a first-round exit at Indian Wells.