Indian Wells (USA) – In his first match since the Australian Open, Ons Jabeur picked up an upset win in the opener of the WTA 1000 in Indian Wells. The world number 4 defeated the lucky Polish loser Magdalena Frech this Saturday by 4/6, 6/4 and 6/1 at 1h43 from the start.

Jabeur missed the Middle East tournaments in Abu Dhabi, Doha and Dubai in February. At the time, he justified his absence due to an operation, but without specifying the health problem. Her next opponent is precisely the last executioner, the Czech left-hander Marketa Vondrousova, who scored a 6/1 double against her compatriot Marie Bouzkova. Despite the recent defeat in Australia, the Tunisian leads the record against the Czech by 3-2.

Happy to see you again, @Ons_Jabeur 👋

The no. The 4 seed finished strong in a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 win over Frech.#TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/C5TFuQ6AWR

– wta (@WTA) March 12, 2023

On a windy night on the pitch and feeling a bit out of pace, Jabeur needed time to get comfortable and apply his signature style. After a first set where she tried to hit harder and shorten the points, the Tunisian felt more comfortable performing her drop shots, slices and volleys from the second set.

The Tunisian came two games from defeat when parical second was tied by 4/4, but managed to break Polish serve at the right time. Dominant in the decisive partial, she broke three more times and faced no break point. Jabeur led the tally of winners 36-11 and committed 33 errors to the rival’s 15.

Bianca Andreescu, winner of the tournament in 2019 and current 36th in the standings, also needed three sets to qualify. The Canadian stayed on the court for 2:31 and beat local guest Peyton Stearns by 4/6, 6/4 and 6/3. Andreescu is the next opponent of world number 1 and current champion Iga Swiatek. The Pole won the only previous duel, played on clay in Rome last year.

Back to the places of the ascent ⬆️

2019 Indian Wells Champion @Bandreescu_ Stearns survives 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, setting up a third round showdown with Swiatek!#TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/XeeVDRFPCU

– wta (@WTA) March 12, 2023

Badosa will face Rybakina in the third round
The Spaniard Paula Badosa, former world number 2 and current 22nd in the ranking, beat her compatriot Nuria Parrizas Diaz by 6/2 and 7/5. Badosa will have a tough match in the third round against Kazakh Elena Rybakina, number 10 in the world. The Spaniard leads the retrospective between them by 4 to 1. In the other match of the evening, the Italian Martina Trevisan beat the North American Madison Brengle by 5/7, 6/1 and 6/2, guaranteeing the duel with the Czech Karolina. Muchova, executioner of Victoria Azarenka in the tournament.

Also on Saturday, Romania’s Sorana Cirstea won the opening set against North American Madison Keys 6-1 when the rival, seeded 19 in the tournament, retired due to nausea during the match. Cirstea will face another house tennis player, left-hander Bernarda Pera.

Sorana Cirstea once again continued her excellent game to start the match by winning the 1st set. But between sets Madison had a medical time out where I saw her mention she was nauseous and eventually pulled out of the match. Sorana Cirstea defeated Madison Keys 6-1, 0-0 Retreat. pic.twitter.com/HN9Uf87zpI

— Romanian tennis (@WTARomania) March 12, 2023