The day was void of major upsets, but it certainly wasn’t lacking for drama on Saturday at the PNB Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif.
After receiving a bye in the first round, third-seeded and two-time champion Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan looked primed to cruise in her first match of the tournament after breaking American and 43rd-ranked Hailey Baptiste in the first game of the match. But Baptiste broke Rybakina’s serve to make it 4-4, foretelling of the frustrations she would cause throughout the match before Rybakina, the third-ranked player in the world, prevailed in three sets, 7-6 (5), 2-6, 6-2.
Similarly, fifth-seeded and fifth-ranked American Jessica Pegula needed three sets in her opener following a first-round bye as world No. 103 Donna Vekic of Croatia took the first set 6-4 before Pegula won the next two 6-2, 6-3 to extend her winning streak to six matches.
Pegula, 32, dominated with eight aces to the 29-year-old Vekic’s one, but much of the rest of the match was statistically even. The difference in the final two sets was Pegula’s ability to save break chances while converting when she had the chance, going 4-for-4 in break opportunities in sets 2 and 3 while turning back all four break points she faced.
No. 8 seed Mirra Andreeva of Russia — the defending champion — posted a double bagel against Solana Sierra of Argentina for the 18-year-old’s 100th main-draw win.
“I always see posts on Instagram, and you know, people just post, ‘Oh, Novak (Djokovic) got his 500th win on tour,’ ” Andreeva said in her on-court interview. “I’m like, I wonder when I’m going to get at least to 50 and now you’re telling me that (this is) my 100th win. So yeah, it’s amazing, super special to hear, and I hope I’m not going to stop here and I’m gonna keep going.”
Second-seeded Iga Swiatek of Poland also had an easy go at it, sweeping American qualifier Kayla Day 6-0, 7-6 (2). Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, the only other top-10 seed in action at No. 9, survived Germany’s Laura Siegemund, winning 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-3.
Among the other seeded players in action in the second round, Madison Keys, seeded 15th, took down French qualifier Diane Parry 6-4, 6-3; 28th-seeded Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine downed American qualifier Taylor Townsend 6-3, 6-2; and No. 32 seed Maria Sakkari of Greece stopped Austrian 18-year-old Lilli Tagger 7-5, 6-0.
Also winning were No. 12 seed Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, 13th-seeded Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic, No. 22 Belgian Elise Mertens and No. 26 Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia. All four won in straight sets.
Four seeded players did fall on Saturday. No. 19 Liudmila Samsonova of Russia was the highest-seeded player to lose, falling to American Ashlyn Krueger 3-6, 7-5, 6-2. Sonay Kartal of Great Britain topped No. 20 seed Emma Navarro of the United States 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (2) while No. 27 Leylah Annie Fernandez of Canada fell 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (1) to Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic. Qinwen Zheng of China, the 24th seed, fell in straight sets to Antonia Ruzi of Croatia 6-4, 7-5.
–Field Level Media
