Badosa outlasts Azarenka to win Indian Wells in her debut
By BETH HARRIS
AP Sports Writer
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) — Paula Badosa edged Victoria Azarenka 7-6 (5), 2-6, 7-6 (2) to win the BNP Paribas Open in her debut in the Southern California desert, where the tournament returned after a 2 1/2-year absence because of the coronavirus. She joined Bianca Andreescu in 2019 and Serena Williams in 1999 in winning the title in her first appearance. It was Badosa’s second title of her career, having won in Belgrade earlier this year. She came into the tournament ranked 27th in the world; a year ago, she was 87th. Badosa is projected to rise to a career-best 13th in Monday’s WTA Tour rankings. Cameron Norrie played Nikoloz Basilashvili in the men’s final later.