Novak Djokovic of Serbia holds the championship trophy after winning his final match against Roger Federer of Switzerland at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California on Sunday. Djokovic defeated Federer 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3) to win the tournament for the third time.
DPA/Indian Wells
Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) on Sunday to win his first title of the season and third of his career at the Indian Wells Masters.
The Serb second seed earned revenge for a semi-final loss to the Swiss a fortnight ago in the Dubai semi-finals, an event which Federer won.
Federer was denied a record fifth trophy at the desert venue, where he last triumphed in 2012. The Swiss was broken for the first time after 33 service holds at the venue as Djokovic took a 5-3 lead in the second set and eventually lifted the trophy in a third-set tiebreaker.
Djokovic will remain second on the ATP behind Rafael Nadal heading into next week’s Masters in Miami. Federer will make a hefty jump from eighth to fifth, as the 17-time grand slam winner returns to the elite after slipping out a few months ago.
The Swiss is the first player since Pete Sampras to finish in the top 10 for 12 years in a row. But he lost his streak of 11 straight years in the top five at the end of last season, when he was bothered by back pain which he cured heading into 2014.
“I truly believe that if I’m playing good tennis, and then it’s maybe sometimes a little easier to lose this way,” said Federer.
“Because I really did believe I was playing good tennis, it was a solid match. It was good also movement wise. My serve was around. You know, it was overall good performance. I’m actually very happy with the tournament.”
Djokovic added the title to those he won at the tournament in 2008 and 2011.
“I’m very proud specifically to win this tournament and all I have achieved,” said the Serb. “The way I won this title is something that makes me very happy and gives me mentally a lot of satisfaction.
“I’m just very happy and thrilled to be able to win the first title in this season. It was the first final that I played this year. It was necessary for my confidence, and hopefully I can carry that into Miami and the rest of the season.”
Federer, winner of 78 career titles, added: “It was an interesting end to the match, no doubt. He played well. At the end he made sure he kept the ball in play and I might have made a few too many errors when it really mattered.”
Federer won the opening set in an impressive performance but lost serve in the eighth game of the second set as Djokovic broke for 5-3 from a Swiss forehand error. The Serb levelled at a set each and then took a 2-1 lead in the third on another break.
Federer turned in a heroic effort to get the break back, 5-5 as Djokovic served for victory, to take the final set into a decider. But Djokovic found his momentum again to dominate, earning a 5-1 lead and closing out victory after Federer had saved a match point.
“You always have to dig deep against Roger. You know that he’s going to play on a very high level and the latter stages of the tournament, especially in the finals.
“I know that he’s not going to give me anything.
“When I served for the match, he played a fantastic game. I couldn’t do much about it. I managed to regroup and get into the tiebreak. That was absolutely great for me, I mean, from the first to the last point.”
Djokovic closed the gap in the career series to 16-17 as he won the 42nd title of his career. Federer stand 19-3 on the season, his best start since 2012.
