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.
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.
Pennetta routs Radwanska
In the women's section, Flavia Pennetta routed Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 6-1 on Sunday in the BNP Paribas Open to win the biggest title of her career.
The 32-year-old Italian became the third-oldest winner of the desert tournament after Martina Navratilova, who won at age 33 and again at 34 in 1990-91. It was Pennetta's first title since winning at Marbella in 2010.
As the 20th seed, Pennetta became the lowest seed to win the title. She came in ranked 21st and is projected to rise to No. 12 in the world Monday in the WTA Tour rankings. She beat top-seeded Li Na in the semifinals on her way to winning the title worth $1 million.
