Naomi Osaka earned a solid victory on return from an extended layoff Thursday when she beat fellow former U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
After dropping the first set 6-3 in windy conditions, the Japanese former world No. 1 won the next two sets 6-1, 6-2 to secure the first round victory and set up a meeting with 21-seed Veronika Kudermetova of Russia.
The match was Osaka's first since January's Australian Open where, as defending champion, she lost in the round of 32.
"To play against Sloane, she just won a tournament and I'm sure she's feeling really confident with herself, that was a really good test for me," said Osaka, according to the WTA Tour website.
"But at the same time I do need to play a lot more matches and I do need to give myself the opportunity to get more into the swing of things."
It was the first time Osaka got the better of American Stephens in three tries, with their most recent meeting coming at the 2018 WTA Finals in Singapore.
Both players have fallen from their career-best rankings, with Osaka sliding from No. 1 to 78 in the world and Stephens from No. 3 to 38.
Osaka's fall down the rankings list can be attributed to a lack of activity, but she said after the win she hopes to get back in a groove in the United States.
"I feel like I played well in Australia, but I keep taking these long breaks and I'm aware that I'm taking them, but hopefully, I'll get more into the flow of things with this U.S. hard court swing," said Osaka, who won her first career title at Indian Wells in 2018.
Fellow Japanese Misaki Doi takes on American Madison Keys in a round of 64 match on Friday. Doi has only beaten Keys twice in seven attempts and not since 2017.
