Indian Wells 2024: Danielle Collins, Brandon Nakashima lead U.S. first-round winners

You can't predict the weather, but you can predict American success at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

Two days of rain-interrupted play in the desert yielded a string of victories on home soil for the unseeded U.S. hopefuls in the women's and men's singles draws. The first-round winners, who all advance to play seeded opponents, included Danielle Collins, Brandon Nakashima, Alex Michelsen and Sloane Stephens, among several others.

'Danimal mode' for Collins

Collins may be in her farewell season, but her always-on intensity leaves little room to savor the moment. She opened her final Indian Wells campaign in style with a 7-6(3), 7-6(6) win against Erika Andreeva. 

“I feel like it's Danimal mode from the moment I walk in,” Collins said with a smile. “I always want to do my best."

The victory sets up a rematch with world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, less than two months after the Polish star escaped a third-set hole against Collins at the Australian Open. 

“I was up in the third set and I had some opportunities where Iga played really high-level tennis,” Collins said ahead of their latest meeting. “I don't feel like I did a ton wrong in that situation. I was close, so it was a good match and hopefully I can use that as confidence going into the next round.”

Nakashima back in the big leagues

Playing in his first tour-level match of the season, Nakashima rose to the occasion with a 6-3, 7-6(3) win against fellow American Christopher Eubanks. Nakashima dropped out of the Top 100 late last season but is back up to No. 93 after a strong run of results on the ATP Challenger Tour this year.

"Walking onto this court is super special for me," the California native said after his statement win on the stadium court. "Playing a guy like Chris, who has a big game, big serve, I knew I just had to do my best to hold my serve and knew I was going to get opportunities on his serve. ... I'm happy with the way I played."

The 22-year-old did not face a break point in the win. He will bid to maintain his strong form against 32nd seed Jiri Lehecka in the second round.