March 19, 2006: Roger Federer tops Blake to write record books in desert
After another fantastic season he had in 2005 (81-4 score with 11 ATP titles), Roger Federer was ready to rumble in 2006 as well, winning titles in Doha and at the Australian Open before losing to Rafael Nadal in the final of Dubai. The Swiss came to Indian Wells as the two-time defending champion and the favorite, proving his hard-court dominance by losing one set in six matches for the 36th ATP trophy. Roger took down Nicolas Massu, Olivier Rochus, Richard Gasquet, Ivan Ljubicic and Paradorn Srichaphan to secure the place in the final and on March 19 he toppled James Blake 7-5, 6-3, 6-0 in the title match to become the first player in the history of the tournament with three consecutive crowns!
The encounter lasted an hour and 43 minutes and this was their third meeting (all in the USA) and the third win for Roger who was yet to lose a set against James. Federer lost his serve twice although that didn't cost him much after a rock solid performance on the return, winning 53% of the points on Blake's serve and creating 16 break chances, stealing the American's serve seven times to wrap up a straight sets win in the last best-of-five final at Indian Wells. After a tight opening set, Federer took charge and marched towards the finish line in sets two and three, hitting more winners and fewer number of unforced errors, also forcing a lot of mistakes with his sharp and aggressive groundstrokes.
The American couldn't find the zone with his serve and initial forehand, trailing big time in the shortest rallies up to four strokes and having the upper hand in the mid-range and most extended exchanges to bring the win home and lift the crown. James earned the first break in the third game of the match when Roger sent a forehand long and scored another break in game five to open up a massive 4-1 lead. With a lot of work to be done if he wanted to climb back on the scoreboard, the Swiss began the chase with a break at love in game six, reducing the deficit to 4-2 and gaining the momentum before the rest of the set.
James built a 5-3 lead with a service winner in game eight and he served for the opener at 5-4. Roger created three break points that James successfully fended off but the American hit a double fault on the fourth break chance to draw Roger back into contention as the Swiss leveled the score at 5-5. The momentum was now on his side and he broke Blake at love in game 12 to grab the opener 7-5, rattling off four straight games to gain the advantage and never looking back. Federer sailed through his service games in set number two and stole James' serve in game eight with a volley winner to move 5-3 in front and serve for the set in the following game.
A backhand winner sealed the deal for him in another love service game, opening a 7-5, 6-3 advantage and having a big chance to clinch the match in the following set. Blake had nothing more left in the tank and Roger claimed the third set 6-0, finishing the encounter with a service winner to celebrate his third consecutive title at Indian Wells, winning 14 of the last 17 games to race towards the finish line and complete Indian Wells hat-trick.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2TPFeYy
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