Indian Wells Tennis 2018: Thursday Scores, Results, Updated Schedule

Kyle NewportMar 8, 2018

Although early rounds rarely feature heavyweight matchups, the first round at the 2018 BNP Paribas Open provided plenty of intrigue.

All eyes were on Stadium 1 on Thursday, as both Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka made their much-anticipated returns to the tour. While Azarenka played in WTA tournaments last summer, most notably the 2017 Wimbledon, this marks Williams' first WTA tournament since she gave birth to her first child late last year.

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It was just two years ago that the two stars met in the finals here, with Azarenka winning in straight sets.

Of course, they weren't the only two players on the courts. Continue below to get a recap of Thursday's action and a glimpse at what's in store for Friday. All bracket information is courtesy of the tournament's official website.

Brackets

Men's Draw

Women's Draw

Thursday's Scores

Men's Singles

Taylor Fritz def. Reilly Opelka (4-6, 7-6 [8-6], 6-4)

Daniil Medvedev def. Steve Johnson (7-6 [7-0], 6-4)

Borna Coric def. Donald Young (6-0, 6-2)

Horacio Zeballos def. Yuichi Sugita (6-7 [5-7], 6-4, 7-6)

Stefanos Tsitsipas def. Radu Albot (7-6 [7-2], 6-2)

Fernando Verdasco def. Guido Pella (6-2, 1-6, 6-2)

Maximilian Marterer def. Ivo Karlovic (6-7 [13-15], 7-6 [7-4], 6-3)

Jeremy Chardy def. Julien Benneteau (6-4, 7-6 [11-9])

Dusan Lajovic def. Lukas Lacko (6-4, 6-4)

Federico Delbonis def. Ryan Harrison (6-2, 4-6, 7-5)

Denis Shapovalov def. Ricardas Berankis (6-3, 6-4)

Mitchell Krueger def. Benoit Paire (6-4, 1-6, 6-4)

Peter Polansky def. Marius Copil (7-6 [7-3], 6-7 [5-7], 7-6 [14-12])

Jared Donaldson def. Evan King (6-1, 4-6, 6-4)

Nicolas Kicker def. Jiri Vesely (7-5, 6-3)

Evgeny Donskoy def. Karen Khachanov (6-3, 1-6, 7-6 [7-5])

Women's Singles

Serena Williams def. Zarina Diyas (7-5, 6-3)

Catherine Bellis def. Sara Sorribes Tormo (6-0, 6-3)

Danielle Collins def. Taylor Townsend (2-6, 6-4, 6-3)

Natalia Vikhlyantseva def. Vera Zvonareva (6-3, 6-2)

Katerina Siniakova def. Christina Mchale (3-6, 6-2, 7-6 [7-6])

Monica Puig, Beatriz Haddad Maia (6-3, 7-6 [7-3])

Ekaterina Makarova def. Kirsten Flipkens (6-2, 6-4)

Lara Arruabarrena def. Lesia Tsurenko (3-6, 6-3, 6-4)

Aliaksandra Sasnovich def. Magda Linette (5-7, 7-6 [7-2], 7-6 [7-4])

Sorana Cirstea def. Monica Niculescu (6-2, 6-3)

Mona Barthel def. Veronica Cepede Royg (6-2, 6-1)

Sofya Zhuk def. Alize Cornet (7-5, 6-4)

Jennifer Brady def. Mihaela Buzarnescu (3-6, 6-4, 6-2)

Yanina Wickmayer def. Kayla Day (6-3, 6-2)

Su-Wei Hsieh def. Carina Witthoeft (5-4, retired)

Victoria Azarenka def. Heather Watson (6-4, 6-2)

Notable Match

Serena Williams def. Zarina Diyas (7-5, 6-3)

While Williams had previously made her way back onto the court, this marks her official WTA return.

The 36-year-old superstar took on seventh-ranked Jelena Ostapenko in an exhibition back in December, a match she lost. Serena also teamed up with her sister, Venus, for a Fed Cup match in February before taking part in the Tie Break Tens event at Madison Square Garden on Monday night.

All of that led to a successful return to the tour.

By no means was the former World No. 1 on top of her game—although after being away from the tour for so long, it would have been unfair to expect her to be. Her first set back wasn't easy, as she committed two double-faults and 17 unforced errors. But in the end, she battled her way to a first-set victory.

She also showed she still has no trouble moving around the court, for those curious:

As the match went on, Williams showed glimpses of her old form, putting her power on display when needed.

The 53rd-ranked Diyas didn't make it easy on Williams, but in the end, Serena garnered a straight-set victory:

It was far from a flawless match for the 23-time Grand Slam champion. However, she was able to shake some rust off and win. Survive and advance is the name of the game, and that's exactly what she did in the first round.

Friday's Schedule

Stadium 1

Gael Monfils vs. Matthew Ebden [2 p.m. ET]

Frances Tiafoe vs. Ernesto Escobedo

Simona Halep (1) vs. Kristyna Pliskova

Garbine Muguruza (3) vs. Sachia Vickery [not before 10 p.m. ET]

Stadium 2

Petra Kvitova (9) vs. Yulia Putintseva [2 p.m. ET]

CoCo Vandeweghe (17) vs. Kaia Kanepi

Nikoloz Basilashvili vs. Tennys Sandgren

Vasek Pospisil vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime

Stadium 3