Emma Raducanu will take on Caroline Garcia in Indian Wells late on Friday after defying predictions to recover from a leg injury.
The US Open champion suffered the problem in a marathon match in Mexico two-and-a-half weeks ago and feared she would have to miss the BNP Paribas Open, one of the biggest tournaments on the WTA Tour.
“It’s a bit of a bonus for me,” said the 19-year-old on bbc.co.uk. “Basically everyone was like ‘there’s no chance you are playing Indian Wells’.”
It is welcome news for Raducanu, who has faced a number of obstacles as she seeks to build on her remarkable New York triumph.
An ill-timed bout of coronavirus disrupted what was her first proper pre-season, and she was hampered by blisters at the Australian Open, losing in the second round.
“It’s all part of it, all these spanners in the works,” she said. “I feel I can take whatever bad luck is thrown at me after all the good fortune I had last year.
“But, yes, it is frustrating because I was hoping to build on it, but I’m sure I’ve got many more chances and tournaments to try and redeem that.”
Andy Murray is also in action on Friday when he takes on Japan’s Taro Daniel for the third time this year while Harriet Dart meets Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina and Liam Broady takes on Miomir Kecmanovic.
After British players won their first nine matches of the tournament combined, there were defeats on Thursday for qualifiers Heather Watson and Katie Boulter.
A strong desert wind was the defining feature of matches on Thursday but Naomi Osaka battled through it to claim her first career win over Sloane Stephens, fighting past the American 3-6 6-1 6-2 in round one.
Osaka, the champion in 2018, had not played a tournament since the Australian Open, after which she plummeted well outside the top 50.
Osaka trailed 2-0 in the third set against her fellow former US Open champion Stephens and fought off three break points to hold and begin a run of six straight games to close out the match.
“Sloane is such a champion,” said Osaka. “Hopefully, next time we play will be in more ideal conditions.
“I felt like I was fighting for my life. I was playing against her, I was playing against the wind. It was crazy. I just kept thinking she was going through the same circumstances as me, so I just had to will myself to try as hard as I could.”
Australian wild card Nick Kyrgios, now ranked down at 132, is also competing for the first time since the Australian Open and he was a confident 6-4 6-0 winner over Argentina’s Sebastian Baez.
Following his win, Kyrgios told the BNP Paribas Open website that for the first time in a long time he is feeling mentally and physically fit.
“I’m just in a different mindset,” said Kyrgios. “I feel like I’m a bit younger mentally, I feel fresh again, and obviously I’m healthy again with my left knee – I feel like I’m playing some pretty good tennis.”
The day also saw emotional scenes between Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk and Maryna Zanevska – who was born in Ukraine but now represents Belgium.
Kostyuk was wearing the colours of her homeland when she came from 3-5 down in the decider to beat Zanevska 6-7 (5) 7-6 (6) 7-5. As play ended, the two rivals embraced each other weeping.
Rafael Nadal will bid to continue his unbeaten start to the season against young American Sebastian Korda, and at his pre-tournament press conference he called for tougher punishments for bad behaviour on court.
Alexander Zverev was given a suspended eight-week ban after his disqualification from the Mexican Open for angrily and repeatedly smashing his racket against the umpire’s chair just below the official’s feet.
“If we are not able to penalise these types of attitudes in a little stronger way, then we as players will feel stronger and stronger all the time,” said Nadal. “We need to be a positive example, especially for the kids.”
