Indian Wells: Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka make winning return

Two of the biggest women’s stars of the tennis world made a winning return to the Tour as Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka made their way into the second round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California on Thursday.

In her first singles match since winning the 2017 Australian Open, Williams notched up a 7-5, 6-3 victory over the 53rd ranked Zarina Diyas in 1 hour 32 minutes. Two-time Indian Wells winner Azarenka too followed Serena’s win with a 6-4, 6-2 drubbing of Great Britain’s World No. 70 Heather Watson.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena wasn’t at her very best but was able to lift her game at the crucial moments to close out the win in straight sets. The first set was a hard-fought one and remained on serve until the 11th game when the American legend got the breakthrough that helped her grab the opener.

With the first set in the pocket, Williams played more freely in the second and earned four service breaks while conceding a couple.

Williams, who is unranked for the first time in 20 years, was playing on the WTA Tour for the first time since giving birth to daughter Olympia in September. In between, she made her comeback to competitive tennis at the Fed Cup first round in February where she partnered elder sister Venus in a doubles match.

The 36-year-old next takes on the 29th seeded Kiki Bertens before a possible third round showdown with Venus.

"To all the ladies out there here, Happy #InternationalWomensDay. I'm so excited to play on this night, it was meant to be!" We agree, @SerenaWilliams! pic.twitter.com/7ver7nGr8j

— WTA (@WTA) March 9, 2018

Azarenka plays first match since 2017 Wimbledon

Azarenka, a winner at Indian Wells in 2012 and 2016, has been involved in a custody battle that has barred her from going out of the state of California. She received a wildcard for this tournament, which allowed her to play her first competitive match since succumbing to a fourth-round defeat at Wimbledon last year.

The two-time Grand Slam champion gave glimpses of her fiery attacking game as she raced ahead to a 5-1 lead over the British No. 2 Watson. Except for a brief comeback by the World No. 70 after that, Azarenka was in control throughout the match and sealed the win in 1 hour 43 minutes.

The currently 204th ranked Azarenka bagged five breaks of serve in this match and dropped her own serve twice. She next meets the reigning US Open winner Sloane Stephens.