Moyuka Uchijima defeated 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu 6-3, 6-2 in Thursday’s first-round match at the BNP Paribas Open to set up a meeting with Coco Gauff.

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Just ahead of Naomi Osaka in the PIF WTA Rankings, World No. 52 Uchijima has become something of a giant-slayer in recent weeks, as she scored her second win over a major champion in the last month in 1 hour and 23 minutes.

She also defeated Jelena Ostapenko in Dubai last month, and in her first match in Indian Wells, the highest-ranked Japanese player handled windy conditions inside Stadium 1 superbly after falling behind 2-0 at the start, breaking Raducanu’s serve five times in all.

“I’m just super happy the way I performed,” Uchijima, 23, said afterward. “It was really windy today, tough conditions for both of us, and I know Emma is a great player. I’m just happy to share the court with her. It’s my first Indian Wells and I cannot imagine a better debut on Stadium 1 and playing my best tennis.”

In all, the Briton hit 35 unforced errors in defeat, to just 15 winners, as Uchijima stayed tidy with 21 winners and 24 unforced errors.

“I tried to stay mentally tough because the wind we can’t control, I tried to focus on things I could control and I think I stayed in the tough moments really well and kept my focus until the end,” Uchijima added.

Despite serving at 72%, Raducanu won just under 50% of points on her first serve — leading to 10 break point opportunities for Uchijima. The win for the 23-year-old levels her all-time head-to-head against Raducanu, as she had lost their previous meeting in Seoul two-and-a-half years ago.

Uchijima will seek her first career Top 10 win against World No. 3 Gauff, who has lost her last three matches, in six attempts up next. Should she spring an upset, she could become only the fourth Japanese player in the Open Era to defeat multiple Grand
Slam champions at the same event after Kimiko Date, Nao Hibino and Osaka.