THE CANADIAN PRESS
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak lost one of the longest matches of her career on Wednesday, going down in a first-round defeat against American Sloane Stephens 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7) at the BNP Paribas Open.
Wozniack, ranked 82nd, fought for three hours and 12 minutes, but the qualifier took her third consecutive first-round loss this season after going out early in Doha and Dubai last month.
Stephens and Wozniack, from Blainville, Que., battled in front of a sparse crowd in the chilly desert night, with Stephens advancing into the second round in a match littered with errors.
There were a combined 35 break point chances — 18 converted — with Stephens firing 11 double-faults and Wozniack committing seven while failing to find an ace.
Wozniack, who failed to qualify for the event in 2011, has won just a singles main draw match in five Indian Wells appearances.
On the men’s ATP side of the draw, Canadian Vasek Pospisil, ranked No. 114, qualified into the main draw as he beat Belgian Maxime Authon 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Top Canadian player Milos Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., has a first-round bye while Toronto’s Daniel Nestor and partner Max Mirnyi of Belarus were seeded second in men’s doubles behind Bob and Mike Bryan.