Naomi Osaka
Naomi Osaka

Belinda Bencic beats Naomi Osaka at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells


Defending champion Naomi Osaka crashed out of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells in a straight-sets loss to Belinda Bencic.

The world number one was immediately on the back foot in her fourth-round match, as Bencic raced to a 5-1 lead in the first set.

Despite Osaka winning the next two games on the bounce, a third break of serve for Bencic helped give her the early advantage.

The Swiss world number 23 continued to harness her momentum in the second set, winning 88% of points on her first serve to prevail 6-3 6-1 after an hour and seven minutes on court.

She will now face Karolina Pliskova for a spot in the semi-finals, after the Czech outlasted Anett Kontaveit 7-6 (0) 4-6 6-2.

World number two Simona Halep suffered a similar fate to Osaka, falling 6-2 3-6 6-2 to unseeded teenager Marketa Vondrousova.

The 19-year-old Czech player, ranked 61, delivered her first career victory over top-10 ranked opposition.

In Tuesday's opening match at Stadium 1, Spaniard Garbine Muguruza also pulled off a shock when she came from behind to defeat Dutch number seven seed Kiki Bertens 5-7 6-1 6-4.

Meanwhile, Venus Williams converted four break points to beat Mona Barthel 6-4 6-4, her fourth consecutive win against the German.

Canadian wildcard Bianca Vanessa Andreescu, 18, defeated Chinese player Qiang Wang 7-5 6-2 to secure her place in the last eight, while number six seed Elina Svitolina came through a tough battle against Australia's Ashleigh Barty to win 7-6 (8) 5-7 6-4.

Number eight seed Angelique Kerber outlasted ninth seed Aryna Sabalenka, claiming a 6-1 4-6 6-4 win.

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