"Why I am back": Angelique Kerber ousts Jelena Ostapenko in gritty Indian Wells win

“This is why I am back.”

Angelique Kerber won a match in trademark Angelique Kerber fashion Friday at the BNP Paribas Open. Taking on one of the season’s hottest players in warm conditions, the three-time major winner overcame a set and a break deficit to defeat Jelena Ostapenko, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.

“It’s really an important win for me. Coming here, playing against one of the top players again and winning the match like this, gives me for sure a lot of confidence,” the German said on-court afterwards.

The victory marked Kerber’s first Top 10 win since her return from maternity leave, and first since the 2021 Billie Jean King Cup Finals. The current world No. 607 had to earn it with a gritty performance, having watched a topsy-turvy opening set slip through her fingertips.

Initially down 3-1, Kerber won four straight games and held two set points. But after failing to capitalize on either chance, the 36-year-old was broken when she served for it in the following game.

Ostapenko, who's picked up trophies in Adelaide and Linz so far this year, strung together six successive games in seemingly taking control of the contest. But Kerber refused to go away quietly, eventually leveling the scoreboard. The two competitors traded four breaks to open the decider, before Kerber put the match on her racquet with her eighth break of the day when Ostapenko’s backhand found the net.

In one final test of nerves, Kerber needed four match points in a 12-point game to shut the door. Reaching back, the lefty hit her target out wide with an unreturned serve.

““I really try to play as early as possible in the day so I have the rest of the day with the little one,” she said.

Kerber celebrated consecutive match wins for the first time since 2022 Wimbledon, while Ostapenko fell to 1-3 in the pair’s head-to-head series.