Naomi Osaka defeated 23-times grand slam singles champion Serena Williams 6-3, 6-2 in the Miami Open first round on Wednesday, the latest big win for the emerging 20-year-old Japanese player. The pair were on serve in the first set of their first career meeting until Osaka, who won her first career title at Indian Wells last week, forced break point chances at 3-3 and Williams was unable to deal with a blistering backhand at her feet.
Roger Federer won his quarterfinal match at Indian Wells against 21-year-old Hyeon Chung with an ace; Chung challenged the call, and lost. The 36-year-old world No. 1 punctuating a straight-sets victory by reminding the young gun with the mighty return game that he still has much to learn.
World number one Roger Federer defeated Jeremy Chardy of France 7-5, 6-4 in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open to reach the quarter-finals. The 36-year-old Swiss maestro can equal his season-best start of 16-0 with a win in the quarterfinals, where he will meet Hyeon Chung of South Korea in a rematch of their Australian Open semifinal. "This might be the last day, so we'll see," Federer said, smiling. "Don't jinx it."
Roger Federer rolled past No. 25 seed Filip Krajinovic 6-2, 6-1 in pursuit of a record sixth BNP Paribas Open title on Monday, as a five-time champion. Federer improved to 65-5 since returning from a left knee injury last year with his third-round victory in a rare day match. Federer hit a running forehand passing shot to break at love and take the set 6-2. Federer cruised to a 3-0 lead in the second and closed out the win in 58 minutes.
A rejuvenated, Venus Williams has defeated rusty, younger sister Serena 6-3 6-4 in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, her first win in the sibling rivalry since 2014. They played Monday night for the first time since last year's Australian Open final when a pregnant Serena won her 23rd Grand Slam title. Venus closed out the match on her second match point when Serena's forehand service return sailed long. It was one of Serena's 41 unforced errors, including 17 on the forehand side.
Serena Williams and sister Venus won at the BNP Paribas Open to set up a third-round clash in the desert tournament. Serena got by No. 29 seed Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands 7-6 (5), 7-5 in the second round on Saturday in her return from a 14-month absence after giving birth to her first child.
