Both players were visited by their coaches during the changeover.
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Osaka served a love game to go up 5-1. Keep an eye on both Osaka and Kasatkina throughout the rest of the 2018 WTA Tour.
Kasatkina, who wasn’t even born when Williams first competed at Indian Wells, said she really felt the nerves getting to her on the big stage in the final.
Kasatkina continues her Cinderella run through the California desert tournament as she goes for her second WTA title. There she was leading 6-2 5-2 when her opponent, the Czech Republic’s Katerina Siniakova, was forced to retire.
The match started as a cagey affair until it reached 3-3 in the opening set, when Halep’s game unravelled as she coughed up a litany of errors, paving the way for Osaka to reel off the next nine games.
The 20-year-old Russian hasn’t dropped a set in four matches at Indian Wells, knocking out U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens and No. 2-ranked Caroline Wozniacki along the way.
She also alluded to her age, which gave her the willpower to take Williams the distance and breaking her serve seven times in total. This took her to 40th in the world at just 18, but some changes were needed to take her game to the next level.
Halep had three double faults, won just five points on her second serve and had her serve broken five times. Osaka gained the only other break of the first set with a backhand victor on the sideline to go up 5-3.
In the quarterfinals she faced another former #1 in the shape of the big serving Karolina Pliskova.
Osaka was as giddy as a child following her triumph.
How do they match up? It seems unlikely: the only sign of her nerves and lack of experience surfaced as she lifted the heavy BNP Paribas Open trophy.
Whenever she can get away, Kasatkina can be found in Barcelona. Her error rate was cranking up, and she increasingly struggled to manage the pace of Osaka’s shot-making. “She’s hitting her forehand, backhand, so she’s really tough”. How the Japanese deals with Kasatkina’s variety will be crucial.
“I’m a bit exhausted”, Kasatkina said after the two hour and 50 minute encounter.
Juan Martin Del Potro saved two match points en route to victory over Roger Federer at Indian Wells, ending the Swiss’ flawless record in 2018 and clinching his first ATP title at the Indian Wells Masters.
“She was much better today than me, so she really deserved to win”, Kasatkina said. The Russian has enough variety to unsettle Osaka and the defensive skills to stay with her in baseline rallies.
She is also the third unseeded champion at the tournament, following in the footsteps of Serena Williams (1999) and Kim Clijsters (2005).
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This title means that Osaka is the youngest champion since Ana Ivanovic, who won here back in 2008.
