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INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Naomi Osaka made a winning return to the BNP Paribas Open on Thursday, rallying to beat Sloane Stephens 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 in a first-round meeting of former major champions.
Trailing 2-0 in the third set, Osaka fought off three break points to hold and begin a run of six straight games to close out the match in just under two hours. She broke Stephens three times in the set, including at love in the sixth game.
Osaka, the 2018 winner at Indian Wells, is back in the desert for the first time since 2019. The Japanese star hasn’t played a tournament since January when she lost in the round of 32 at the Australian Open. Having played only a handful of events last year, her ranking has dropped to 78th in the world.
“Honestly, I feel like I’m at peace with myself, which I think is a great feeling to have as a person,” Osaka said in her pre-tournament availability.
The four-time major champion watched qualifying matches earlier in the week and encountered fans while walking around the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
“Usually when I walk around, people are like, ‘Win the tournament, I have tickets to the final,’ kind of thing,” Osaka said. “And, actually people were just saying, ‘I hope you have fun.’ I know that’s not the biggest difference, but it really meant a lot to me.”
Osaka has said she has faced bouts of depression since winning the US Open in 2018. She withdrew from the French Open last year to preserve her mental health.
Stephens, the 2017 US Open winner, lost for the first time in three career meetings with Osaka. The American’s ranking has dropped to 38th, although she was coming off a win in the tournament at Guadalajara, Mexico, last month.
Other first-round winners were Yulia Putintseva, Daria Saville and Tereza Martincova.
In men’s first-round matches, Americans Mackenzie McDonald, Jenson Brooksby and Jack Sock won. McDonald beat Marton Fucsovics 7-6 (11), 7-5; Brooksby topped Roberto Carballes Baena 6-1, 6-4; and Sock took down Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-1, 6-1.