Rybakina and Muchova save set points in Indian Wells openers

Elena Rybakina and Karolina Muchova survived opening-set danger to reach the Indian Wells third round. Rybakina defeated Hailey Baptiste 7–6(5), 2–6, 6–2 in two hours sixteen minutes, while Muchova beat Anna Bondar 7–5, 6–2 for a seventh consecutive victory.

Baptiste held three set points at 6–5 in the opener, but Rybakina combined defence and strong serving to escape. The American continued her varied attacking approach to take the second set before the Australian Open champion found more decisive serving in the decider.

On another court, Bondar held four first-set points at 5–4 against Muchova. The Doha champion saved them through simple serve-and-attack patterns, then won nine of the next eleven games. Both winners advanced despite blustery conditions and opponents willing to challenge their preferred playing styles.