Indian Wells, March 11

Eugenie Bouchard took another step in her comeback by rallying for a 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 win over qualifier Risa Ozaki in the opening round at Indian Wells on Thursday.

The 22-year-old Canadian, who had a breakout year in 2014 when she reached world No 5, is fresh off a run to the final of the Malaysian Open on Sunday where she lost to Elina Svitolina 6-7 (5/7), 6-4, 7-5. This was the first career meeting between Bouchard and Ozaki, who won two qualifying matches to get into the main draw. Ozaki proved to be a difficult opponent mixing up her shots and making very few mistakes in the early stages of the match. “I felt out of sorts,” said Bouchard, adding she was fatigued from her hectic travel schedule. “I felt more emotional than usual. It was one of those days where I felt weird and off on the court.”

The unseeded Montreal-born Bouchard needed almost two hours to win Thursday evening’s match which ended when Ozaki’s backhand sailed long. Bouchard finished with six aces, two double faults and won 52 per cent of her second-serve points. The opening three games of the match went quickly as neither player dropped a point on serve. Down 2-1 in the fourth game, Bouchard became the first to lose a service point, hitting a shot long to make it 40-15.

Bouchard then broke Ozaki three times to go ahead 5-4 before serving out for the set. Bouchard carried that momentum over into final set as she built a 5-1 lead. Ozaki won the seventh game of the set before Bouchard clinched the victory by winning it on her first match point. “She played better than I expected. I am looking forward to my next match,” Bouchard said of her second round encounter with American 21st seed Sloane Stephens.

The top 32 seeds received a bye into the second round at Indian Wells. This is the first time since the Australian Open, that all the WTA and ATP Tour’s top players are in the same place. In the men’s draw, Juan Martin del Potro marked his return to the desert tournament with a dominating 6-4, 6-0 victory over Tim Smyczek.