Djokovic survives scare in Indian Wells return
CALIFORNIA: 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 five-time champion at Indian Wells, tied with Roger Federer for most by a male, but hadn’t played in the event since 2019.
Djokovic avoided an upset by pulling away from the No. 69-ranked Vukic in the third set of his first match since falling to Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals of the Australian Open.
Djokovic won Masters 1000 titles last year at Cincinnati and Paris. He won in the desert in 2008 and 2011, then three straight times from 2014-16. The 36-yearold from Serbia is 400-86 in ATP Masters 1000 events. Nadal, who withdrew just before the event, has 406 victories in the nine tournaments at the level below the
Grand Slams. 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 third-seeded Gauff advanced to face Lucia Bronzetti in the third round. The Italian knocked off No. 32 Anhelina Kalinina 6-3, 6-4.
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.