At the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, Coco Gauff faced a tough challenge in her opening match against Clara Burel. The US Open women's champion found herself trailing 4-0 and then 5-2, putting her on the brink of a potential upset. Burel, ranked No. 47 from France, had previously defeated No. 5 Jessica Pegula at the Australian Open earlier this year.
However, Gauff showed her resilience and fought back to claim a hard-fought victory, winning 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4). The third-seeded Gauff now moves on to face Lucia Bronzetti in the third round.
In other matches at the tournament, Novak Djokovic made his return to Indian Wells after a two-year absence. The 24-time Grand Slam singles champion was aiming to become only the second player, alongside Rafael Nadal, to reach 400 wins in Masters 1000 series events. Djokovic, a five-time champion at Indian Wells, faced stiff competition as he continued his campaign.
Meanwhile, Cameron Norrie, the defending champion at Indian Wells, cruised to victory over Lorenzo Sonego with a 6-4, 6-4 win. Other notable players such as Ugo Humbert and Adrian Mannarino also advanced in the tournament. Arthur Fils, a rising French talent, caused an upset by defeating No. 23 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in straight sets.
Emma Raducanu, another US Open women's champion, progressed to the third round after her opponent, Dayana Yastremska, was forced to retire when Raducanu was leading 4-0.
The BNP Paribas Open continues to showcase thrilling matches and surprises as top players battle for supremacy on the courts of Indian Wells.
