Indian Wells Tennis 2019: Friday Scores, Results, Updated Schedule

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Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka underlined and bolded International Women's Day with the best match from Friday's 2019 BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. 

Williams and Azarenka's intense match served as something of a nightcap for what was a full day of both men's and women's tennis in California. Perhaps the most shocking result came in the afternoon when fourth-ranked Sloane Stephens lost to unranked Stefanie Voegele. 

Below is a comprehensive look at the men's and women's singles results, an updated schedule for Saturday's action and a recap of Friday's signature match. 

Men's

Wawrinka overcame losing the first set to eventually ease his way into the second round.TPN/Getty Images

Steve Johnson def. Taylor Fritz, 6-3, 6-3

Feliciano Lopez def. Tomas Berdych, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2)

Stan Wawrinka def. Daniel Evans, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-3

Jared Donaldson def. Tatsuma Ito, 6-3, 7-5

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Hubert Hurkacz def. Donald Young, 6-3, 6-3

Dusan Lajovic def. Taro Daniel, 7-6 (6), 6-4

Peter Gojowcyk def. Andreas Seppi, 7-5, 6-4

Alexei Popyrin def. Juame Munar, 7-6 (7), 6-3

Alex Bolt def. Ernests Gulbis, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2

Radu Albot def. Marius Copil, 6-2, 6-2

Filip Krajinovic def. Mikhail Kukushkin, 6-3, 6-4

Robin Haase def. Denis Istomin, 7-6 (2), 6-1

Mackenzie McDonald def. Joao Sousa, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3

Roberto Carballes Baena def. Ryan Harrison, 6-3, 7-5

Nicolas Jarry def. Frances Tiafoe, 6-4, 4-6, 7-5

Women's

Garbine Muguruza def. Lauren Davis, 6-1, 6-3

Stefanie Voegele def. Sloane Stephens, 6-3, 6-0

Simona Halep def. Barbora Strycova, 6-2, 6-4

Jennifer Brady def. Caroline Garcia, 6-3, 3-6, 6-0

Jelena Ostapenko def. Shuai Zhang, 6-2, 6-1

Elise Mertens def. Amanda Anisimova, 6-4, 6-2

Ashleigh Barty def. Tatjana Maria, 6-4, 6-4

Bianca Andreescu def. Dominika Cibulkova, 6-2, 6-2

Marketa Vondrousova def. Daria Kasatkina, 6-2, 6-1

Johanna Konta def. Su-Wei Hsieh, 6-0, 6-2

Daria Gavrilova def. Mihaela Buzarnescu, 6-2, 6-2

Kateryna Kozlova def. Aliaksandra Sasnovich, 6-4, 2-6, 6-0

Qiang Wang def. Bernarda Pera, 7-6 (5), 6-2

Serena Williams def. Victoria Azarenka, 7-5, 6-3

Elina Svitolina def. Sofia Kenin, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4

For complete schedule and results, visit the tournament's official website.

Serena Williams def. Victoria Azarenka, 7-5, 6-3

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The last time Williams and Azarenka competed against each other was in the final of 2016's Indian Wells tournament. Since then, both women have become mothers and come back to the court even stronger. That resilience showed Friday night. 

Williams won in straight sets, but anybody who watched the match can attest to it feeling much more competitive than the scorecard reflects.

Azarenka had the chance to go up 4-2 on Williams in the first set. Instead, Serena evened things at 3-3:

Williams would go on to take a 5-3 set lead only for Azarenka to level things at 5-5:

That's where Williams would pull away to win the first set 7-5 and get into a groove for the second set. The defining factor of the match came in break points. Williams converted six of 12, while Azarenka allowed Williams to linger by converting just four of 15.

After the match, Williams opened up about her win and specifically the opponent she defeated (per the Tennis Channel): "I truly love her. She's a really good friend. She's a fellow mom. She's a former No. 1, just like me. A former No. 1. She's an amazing person. It's hard to play someone that you're so close with, but it's also really invigorating and cool."

When asked about her performance Friday night, Williams coyly said she "thought she played well" before she added more seriously that "playing champions like Victoria makes me realize that I still have a ton of improvement to do, and I definitely have the desire to do it."

Williams last won the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells in 2001.