Badosa ousts Azarenka in epic final to claim Indian Wells title

California [USA], October 18 : The No.21 seed Paula Badosa of Spain triumphed in the final WTA 1000 event of the season by overcoming No.27 seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, 7-6(5), 2-6, 7-6(2), to win the BNP Paribas Open championship in Indian Wells.
In the first meeting between the two players, Badosa denied former World No.1 Azarenka what would have been her record-breaking third BNP Paribas Open title. Instead, it was the Spaniard who claimed the second WTA singles title of her season and her career.
The intense 3-hour and 4-minute match is this year's longest WTA singles final. It caps off a career-best week for Badosa, who defeated four Top 20 players in a row en route to the championship match, where she beat two-time titlist Azarenka to improve to 2-0 in WTA singles finals.
Badosa is now 6-0 in Indian Wells main-draw matches, storming to the title in her main-draw debut. She follows in the footsteps of the previous BNP Paribas Open champion, Bianca Andreescu, who also won the title in her tournament debut in 2019. Badosa is also the first Spaniard to clinch the crown jewel in the Californian desert.