The top-ranked five-time champion at Indian Wells, Djokovic is tied with Roger Federer for the most all-time men’s champions, but he has not played since 2019 in the event. Novak Djokovic triumphantly returned to the desert by defeating Alexander Vukic 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 on Saturday at the BNP Paribas Open in his first match in five years.
Champion Rafael Nadal became the only player to win 400 matches at ATP Masters 1000 series events with 24 Grand Slam singles titles. Djokovic, the top-ranked five-time champion at Indian Wells, is tied with Roger Federer for the most all-time men’s champions but has not played in the tournament since 2019.
The reigning US Open women’s champion trailed 4–0 and then 5–2 in the tournament in the third set of her opening match, leaving her one game away from becoming the second top American to be upset by Burrell this year. No. 5 Jessica Pegula was defeated by the No. 47 player from France in the second round of the Australian Open.
Lucia Bronzetti has to face third-seeded Gauff
In the third round, Lucia Bronzetti advanced to face third-seeded Gauff. 32nd-ranked Angelina Kalinina was defeated by the Italian player 6-3, 6-4. But again in the second round on Saturday, Pegula was eliminated by Anna Blinkova who defeated her 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
Naomi Osaka eliminated another seeded player after defeating Russia’s Lyudmila Samsonova, who played at number 14, 7-5, 6-3. The four-time Grand Slam champion, who returned to competition this year after giving birth, won the Paribas title at the 2018 BNP. Now she will face No. 24 Elise Mertens.
No. 27 Victoria Azarenka, who won the tournament twice, lost to American Caroline S. Dolehyde 7-5, 2-6, 6-3. Djokovic survived a first-match upset in his third-set loss to Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open semi-finals by pulling back No. 69 Vukic.
Djokovic won Masters 1000 titles in Cincinnati and Paris last year but missed the first two of the year in Indian Wells and Miami, yet was barred from travelling to the U.S. as a foreigner at the time, he was vaccinated against COVID-19.
They won in the desert in 2008 and 2011 and then three consecutive times from 2014-16. The 36-year-old has an ATP score of 400-86 at the Serbia Masters 1000 event. Nadal withdrew just before the event and has 406 wins in nine Grand Slam tournaments.