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| Djokovic holds aloft his trophy for winning at Indian Wells after his win over Federer in the final | |
Roger Federer went the way of Andy Murray as Novak Djokovic beat him to win the BNP Paribas title at Indian Wells.
World
No 1 Djokovic dropped just five games in beating Murray in the
semi-finals on Saturday and although Federer fared better in a 6-3, 6-7,
6-2 loss, another trophy is being inscribed with the Serbian's name.
This
was a successful defence of the title he beat Federer to a year ago and
puts the two men level on four Indian Wells crowns each.
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| Novak Djokovic was once again the King of Indian Wells as he clinched the BNP Paribas Open title | |
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| The Serb is congratulated by Federer after his victory at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden | |
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| Djokovic celebrates after closing out the match in the third set to win his fourth Indian Wells title | |
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| The world No 1 made it back-to-back titles in California after beating Roger Federer in the final | | |
Aside from
that, Djokovic is in such frightening form that it is hard to see who
can stop him in 2015, although that may change with the clay-court
season and the French Open just around the corner.
For now, though, he remains the stand out player in a field that was once considered to have four men at the head of it.
He and Federer - the 17-time grand slam champion - could not be separated early on but Djokovic soon found a way into the match.
At
3-2 up and on serve he went a break clear, a brilliant backhand passing
shot forcing Federer to stick out a racket and dump the ball in the
tramlines.
That was all the Australian Open champion needed in the opener and duly served out for a 6-3 set win.
He
struck earlier in the second, breaking in the third game when Federer
slapped a forehand into the net, and even when he gave his opponent a
rare chance on his own delivery he saved two break points in the next
game.
It
was an uphill struggle for Federer, who earned credit for saving a
break point that would have pretty much finished things off in the
seventh game, and he went on to earn break points of his own in the
next.
A
fabulous forehand saved the first, but when Djokovic double-faulted he
gave Federer a second and he was forced into pinning a one-hander of his
own into the net to restore parity.
Fired
up, Federer quickly backed up the break and thought he had a window on
Djokovic's next service game as he got to deuce, but he was quickly shut
down.
Federer was in control now, though, and made it count in the tie-break.
He
first went long with an open-court forehand volley, giving Djokovic a
mini break, but quickly got one of his own, although when he planted an
overhead into the net - a weak spot on the day - he was 5-3 down.
But
back he came, Djokovic blinking first after an epic rally and hitting a
passing shot into the tape, before double faulting to 5-5.
Amazingly
he followed that up with another double-fault, meaning when he went
long on the next point, Federer was back on terms at 1-1.
Djokovic
shrugged off the disappointment, rattling off two games to quickly build
an early 2-0 lead in the decider, but Federer produced then a superb
game to break back.
The Serbian's reaction was to smash his racket, thus eliciting a warning from the umpire.
After
cooling off, the world No 1 held then broke - a double fault from
Federer was a gift in the sixth game - before upping his concentration
levels further to pull three games clear.
The
final game was procedural and after two hours and 17 minutes on court,
Djokovic was crowned king in the Californian desert once again.
At the trophy ceremony both players expressed a keen desire to cross paths again during the Grand Slam season.
Federer said: 'I would like to congratulate Novak on a great final and a wonderful tournament.
'It's a great start to the season and I hope we can play some more this year.'
Djokovic added: 'Tough luck Roger, it was a great tournament and you're a great champion and great competitor.
'It was a pleasure playing against you and, as you said, hopefully we can play some more this year.'
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