INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA - In the first career WTA clash between two 20-year-olds, it was French Open champion and No.6 seed Jelena Ostapenko who made a winning start to her BNP Paribas Open campaign by edging Belinda Bencic, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.

After the pair split a pair of tightly-contested which had a difference of one break each time, the World No.6 breezed through the final set behind four breaks and 74 percent of points won on return to move through to the third round for the first time.

"I was just trying to fight, because in the first set I started pretty well, but she played well in the second set," Ostapenko said. "I think the key game was the first game in the third set when I broke her serve from 40-0. I kind of felt my confidence and it went my way.

"It's only my second time here, but hopefully I have many more times to come. I really enjoy playing out here in front of this crowd."

The former World No.7 in Bencic showed some of the fighting spirit which saw her win her first round match against Timea Babos after facing match point despite getting off to a slow start in the match. 

Despite winning just four points in Ostapenko's first three service games, Bencic won three straight games from 1-4 down in the opening set to draw the action even on Stadium 3.

The current World No.68 even had four chances to extend her run to four straight games and serve for the set, but Ostapenko edged through a marathon, six-deuce ninth game to reclaim the lead, and broke the Swiss' serve from 30-0 down to steal the opener.

"I know her since we were 10 or 12 years old. She went to the top a little bit faster than everyone our age, but it was a good match," Ostapenko added after the match.

"When you play against someone your age, you're more competitive and you have more motivation to win because you know each other from such a young age. It's a little bit more pressure, of course, but I think it's a positive thing."

After losing serve twice in the first set, Bencic was dominant on her delivery in the second to help send the match to a decider. The Swiss dropped just six points on serve in four service games in the middle set, and served at 86 percent. 

On the other side of the net, Ostapenko landed just 43 percent of her first serves for the second set running, but it was a sprayed backhand on break point which gave Bencic her first lead of the match in the fifth game. 

The Swiss rolled through to level the match from there, as she won four of the last five games of the set and cracked a forehand return winner to level the match after just about 90 minutes played.

The decider was nonetheless dominated by the French Open champion, as she broke by winning five straight points in the opening game to take a lead she would never relinquish. 

Though Bencic recorded a love break in the fourth game to save the bagel, Ostapenko responded with one of her own and won 12 of the last 15 points to record her second-ever main draw victory in Indian Wells. 

"I was fighting really hard [for the first game of the third set]," she said. "She made like one easy mistake when it was 40-30 on her serve and then it kind of turned my way. I just felt the confidence, it came back to me, and I felt much better."

The Latvian will next face Croatia's Petra Martic, who upset No.25 seed Barbora Strycova in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4.