Djokovic wins in his return, Gauff rallies at Indian Wells

Novak Djokovic made a winning return to the desert, beating Aleksandar Vukic 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 on Saturday in his first match at the BNP Paribas Open in five years.

The 24-time Grand Slam singles champion joined Rafael Nadal as the only players to win 400 matches in ATP Masters 1000 series events. The top-ranked Djokovic is a fivetime champion at Indian Wells, tied with Roger Federer for most by a male, but hadn’t played in the event since 2019.

Coco Gauff also won — barely — rallying just in time to avoid an early exit by edging Clara Burel 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4).

The U.S. Open women’s champion trailed 4-0 and then 5-2 in the third set of her opening match in the tournament, leaving her a game away from becoming the second top American upset by Burel this year. The No. 47-ranked player from France beat No. 5 Jessica Pegula in the second round of the Australian Open.

The third-seeded Gauff advanced to face Lucia Bronzetti in the third round. The Italian knocked off No. 32 Anhelina Kalinina 6-3, 6-4.

But Pegula was eliminated in the second round again Saturday, with Anna Blinkova of Russia beating her 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

Naomi Osaka knocked out another seeded player, ousting No. 14 Liudmila Samsonova of Russia, 7-5, 6-3. The four-time Grand Slam champion who returned to competition this year after giving birth won the 2018 BNP Paribas title. She will next face No. 24 Elise Mertens.

No. 27 Victoria Azarenka, who won the event twice, was upset by American Caroline Dolehide 7-5, 2-6, 6-3. Emma Raducanu, the 2021 U.S. Open women’s champion, reached the third round when No. 30-seeded Dayana Yastremska had to retire after Raducanu had taken a 4-0 lead.