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| CiCi Bellis eyes a backhand during her 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 loss to No. 24 seed and defending champion Elena Vesnina today in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. Photo by Mal Taam |
Vesnina, 31, received a first-round bye before facing Bellis for the first time.
"I'm really happy that I won this (first) match," Vesnina told reporters. "It's never easy to play first match in any tournament, and in this tournament especially for me.
"CiCi, she's having a great season. She's only 18 years old. When they announced that and they said her highest ranking is 35 in the world, I was like, Whoa, that's impressive.
"She has a bright future. She's a really talented girl, good fighter. Yeah, I'm just happy that I won this match."
After playing in 16,100-seat Stadium 1 in her first two career matches at Indian Wells, the 45th-ranked Bellis played Vesnina in Stadium 4. Oddly, No. 3 seed Grigor Dimitrov faced Fernando Verdasco in Stadium 1 instead. Verdasco, a 34-year-old left-hander who won the 2010 SAP Open in San Jose, prevailed 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-3.
The late match between No. 13 seed Sloane Stephens and wild card Victoria Azarenka was postponed by rain until Sunday not before 12:30 p.m.
Stephens, who grew up in Fresno, has slumped badly since winning her first Grand Slam title in the U.S. Open last September. Azarenka reached No. 1 in the world in 2012 and won the BNP Paribas Open that year and in 2016.
Azarenka is playing in her first tournament since Wimbledon last July because of a custody battle over her 1-year-old son, Leo.
In a first-round battle of brothers, former Stanford stars Bob and Mike Bryan defeated Alexander and Mischa Zverev 6-3, 4-6 (10-1). The seventh-seeded Bryans seek their third Indian Wells title.
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