Top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki defeated Marion Bartoli 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 to win the BNP Paribas Open a year after the Dane lost in the final.
Wozniacki won her WTA Tour-leading 19th match of the year and her second title while appearing in the final for her third consecutive tournament.
Wozniacki sealed victory on her second match point when Bartoli’s backhand sailed beyond the baseline. Bartoli was playing in her first final since 2009, and she fell to 2-6 in matches against the No. 1 player.
The victory allowed Wozniacki to improve her results for the fifth straight year in the desert. She lost in the first round in her 2007 debut, reached the fourth round in 2008, the quarterfinals in 2009 and was runner-up to Jelena Jankovic a year ago.
She earned $700,000, and was already assured of remaining No. 1 through the upcoming two-week tournament in Miami. Bartoli is projected to be No. 10 when the rankings are released on Monday, her first time back in the top 10 since June 2008.
Wozniacki rolled through the first set, breaking Bartoli three times with well-placed shots that jerked her from side to side and up and back. Bartoli was breathing heavily throughout the match that was played in 65-degree temperatures under overcast skies.
Bartoli earned the only two breaks of the second set, when Wozniacki seemed content to stay back and rally instead of trying to go for as many winners as she did in the opening set. Wozniacki broke Bartoli after two deuces to open the third. She owned triple break point in the third game, but missed a forehand that allowed Bartoli to hold trailing 2-1. Bartoli was the first Frenchwoman to make an Indian Wells final.
Wozniacki asked for her coach, who is her father Piotr, to come on court. She responded by holding serve in the next game before Bartoli double-faulted to fall behind 4-1. Wozniacki got broken for the only time in the third on a missed backhand and Bartoli survived a deuce game on her serve to close to 4-3. But Wozniacki won the final two games, breaking Bartoli to close out the match.
