- Tigers beat Guardians and on brink of advancing in MLB playoffs
- Argentina MPs back Milei's veto of university funding
- Man City sink Barca in Women's Champions League as Bayern outgun Arsenal
- Greek international Baldock, 31, found dead in pool: state agency
- Florida seaside haven a ghost town as hurricane nears
- Pharrell Williams to co-chair Met Gala exploring Black dandyism
- Wall Street indices hit fresh records as Chinese shares tumble
- Taiwan's president to deliver key speech for National Day
- Sea row on the menu as ASEAN leaders meet China's Li
- Injured Kane won't start England's Nations League clash with Greece
- Discord seen as online home for renegades
- US forecasts severe solar storm starting Thursday
- Mozambique starts tallying votes in tense election
- Zelensky moves to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Ratan Tata: Indian mogul who built a global powerhouse
- Rodgers rejects 'false' suggestions of role in Saleh dismissal
- One dead as storm Kirk tears through Spain, Portugal, France
- Indian business titan Ratan Tata dead at 86
- Lebanon facing 'catastrophic' situation as 600,000 displaced: UN
- US warns Israel not to repeat Gaza destruction in Lebanon
- Musk's X returns in Brazil after 40-day showdown with judge
- Call her savvy? Harris unleashes unconventional media blitz
- Lucian Freud 'masterpiece' fetches £13.9 million at London sale
- SoFi Stadium to hold next two CONCACAF Nations League finals
- McIlroy and DeChambeau set for PGA-LIV 'Showdown' in Vegas
- Fed minutes highlight divisions over rate cut decision
- Steve McQueen debuts new WWII film at London festival
- Run blitz edges India and South Africa closer to World Cup semi-finals
- Zelensky to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Israel captain says 'difficult' to focus on football in time of war
- Macron to host Ukraine's Zelensky after meeting Ukrainian troops
- Root says 'many more to get' after England Test runs landmark
- India pile up World Cup high to rout Sri Lanka
- One year later, Israeli hostage family learns of loss
- Texans receiver Collins, Pats' safety Peppers out for NFL clash
- Biden-Netanyahu talk as Hezbollah, Israeli forces clash
- Musk's X available again in Brazil after 40-day ban
- Reddy stars as India crush Bangladesh to clinch T20 series
- Nobel winners hope protein work will spur 'incredible' breakthroughs
- What are proteins again? Nobel-winning chemistry explained
- Arch rivals Ghana, Nigeria drawn together in CHAN qualifying
- AI steps into science limelight with Nobel wins
- Trump lauds India's Modi as 'total killer'
- Wall Street, Europe rise as Chinese shares tumble
- Hunkering down for Hurricane Milton at Disney -- but first, a few rides
- Reddy, Rinku power India to 221-9 in second Bangladesh T20
- Overshooting 1.5C risks 'irreversible' climate impact: study
- Time running out in Florida to flee Hurricane Milton
- Demis Hassabis, from chess prodigy to Nobel-winning AI pioneer
- The long walk for water in the parched Colombian Amazon
Osaka survives Stephens to launch Indian Wells return
Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka wouldn't be blown off course in her return to Indian Wells, outlasting Sloane Stephens 3-6-, 6-1, 6-2 in a blockbuster first-round clash.
Japan's Osaka, playing her first tournament since a third-round exit at the Australian Open saw her plummet out of the top 80 in the world rankings, was a break down at 0-2 in the third set but won the last six games to secure the victory over former US Open champion Stephens at the WTA and ATP Masters event.
In gusting Calfornia desert winds, Osaka saved three break points in the third game of the third set to launch her final rally of a match that featured a string of momentum shifts.
She polished it off by breaking Stephens at love in the final game.
"I felt like I was fighting for my life," Osaka said. "I was playing against her, I was playing against the wind. It was crazy.
"I just kept thinking she was going through the same circumstances as me, so I just had to will my self to try as hard as I could."
The winds were picking up just as Osaka and Stephens took Stadium Court, with afternoon shadows making things even more difficult in the early going.
Osaka seemed to settle in quicker, taking a 3-1 lead, but Stephens won five straight games to pocket the opening set before Osaka roared back in the second -- winning four games before Stephens managed her lone service hold.
The marquee first-round match was an outlier at Indian Wells, where all 32 seeded players in both the men's and women's draws enjoy first-round byes.
But Osaka and Stephens weren't among them, Osaka starting the week ranked 78th in the world and Stephens 38th, although the American came in on the rise after claiming her first title since 2018 in Guadalajara last month.
"She's such a great champion," Osaka said. "Hopefully next time we play it'll be in more ideal conditions."
Osaka advanced to a second-round meeting with 21st seed Veronika Kudermetova.
Osaka is back at the prestigious Indian Wells hardcourt tournament for the first time since 2019.
She won the title in 2018, her first WTA trophy launching a breakout campaign that included the 2018 US Open crown.
She added a second US Open title to her resume in 2020 and won the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021, but her second Melbourne triumph was followed by well-documented struggles that put a spotlight on the mental health of athletes in a wide range of sports.
She arrived at Indian Wells saying she felt "at peace" with herself, and confident that she was on the right path despite her early Australian Open exit.
Should she go deep into the tournament, Osaka won't have to worry about the current top-ranked players in the world. No. 1 Ashleigh Barty withdrew saying she hadn't fully recovered after her Australian Open triumph, and world number two Barbora Krejcikova pulled out late with an elbow injury.
World number three Aryna Sabalenka and number four Iga Swiatek are the highest-ranked women in the field.
Poland's Swiatek opens her campaign on Friday with a second-round clash with Ukraine's Anhelina Klainina.
Reigning US Open champion Emma Raducanu of Britain is also in action on Friday, taking on France's Caroline Garcia.
D.Cunningha--AMWN