The second round of the BNP Paribas Open proved to be challenging for several top seeds. Aryna Sabalenka triumphed over Peyton Stearns in a hard-fought battle, winning 6-7(2) 6-2 7-6(6). Coco Gauff staged a remarkable comeback to defeat Clara Burel, overcoming a slow start to win 2-6 6-3 7-6(4). Maria Sakkari also faced a tough challenge but emerged victorious against Diana Shnaider, with a final score of 5-7 6-4 6-0. In another thrilling match, Anna Blinkova secured a win over Jessica Pegula, prevailing 6-2 3-6 6-3.
The third-seeded Gauff, who is playing her last tournament as a teenager, struggled to maintain momentum and quickly lost any leads she picked up. The crowd firmly on the American’s side carried her through the more difficult moments. The nineteen-year-old was happy to deliver for them, telling media, “they definitely were trying to root me on, especially in the tough moments. I’m glad I was able to come out through at the end.”
The top American knows she has some work ahead of her: “the last tournaments I have done well usually I have a tough opening first round, especially with the biggest one was US Open. I don’t want to have any regrets on the court. Am I proud of how I played? Not really, to be honest. But the fight, I am proud of. I am eager to improve.”
Sakkari did not hold back to express disappointment in how she started the match, telling media, “think that first set and a half was one of the worst tennis I’ve played in a while. I was just nervous, and obviously having a new coach on your team you always want to impress them.” The ninth seed went on to add that new coach David Witt is a calm presence, but it was the pressure and nerves she put on herself that gave her troubles. The BNP Paribas Open is their first tournament together, so the two are still feeling out what works best, for example finding the best approach to on-court coaching and motivation.
The first night-session match saw second seed Sabalenka narrowly survive Peyton Stearns. The American lost four match points up 5-4 in the third set on her serve. The Belarusian won on her fourth match point in the tiebreak. Late in the match, the Australian Open champion slid and appeared to roll her ankle lightly. She managed to fall cleverly, rotating onto her knee but scraping it badly in the evasion. The 25-year-old finished the match without medical timeout but was looking forward to treatment. She told the press, “It was bad in first seconds, but then slowly it was getting better and I felt like, okay, I’m ready to play. In that moment when it twisted a little bit, I thought, oh, God, what went wrong? It’s happening to me. But this is just the proof that I was trying so hard to get to every ball and to put every ball back.”
The well-filled stadium cheered loudly for both players, but the high pressure favored the more experienced former world number one: “I was really pushing myself hard, even though I didn’t play my best tennis and she was crushing it like crazy. I was just trying to stay in the game and keep fighting for every point. This match definitely goes into the book of craziest matches and the best matches of my career.”
The third round will be played Sunday and Monday in Indian Wells.
