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March 23, 2008: Novak Djokovic tops Mardy Fish for first Indian Wells crown

After winning five ATP titles (two Masters 1000 crowns) and almost 70 matches on the Tour in 2007, Novak Djokovic was ready to chase even higher goals in the following year, still at the age of 20. Novak claimed the first Grand Slam crown in Melbourne at the beginning of 2008 and stayed behind Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal during the entire year after lifting trophies at Indian Wells, Rome and Masters Cup! What he failed to do a year ago when Rafael Nadal defeated him in the title match, Novak fixed on March 23 when he went all the way at Indian Wells to grab the third Masters 1000 trophy, toppling Mardy Fish 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 in two hours and five minutes for the first crown in the desert. 

The American served at only 40% although he did his best to stay in touch with the better-ranked opponent, creating six break points and converting three of those. On the other hand, Novak earned the same number of opportunities on the return and managed to grab five breaks to prevail in three sets, adding another big title to his tally. They had a similar number of winners and it was Novak who tamed his shots more efficiently, reducing the number of errors and standing firm in the mid-range rallies that delivered the crown for him. It was the best possible start for the 20-year-old, holding at love in the opening game and moving 2-0 ahead when Fish sent a forehand long. 

Another good hold sent Novak 3-0 up but he faced the first troubles on serve in game five when he played against two break points. Mardy needed only one to pull the break back, firing a deep return to force an error from the youngster and get back on the positive side of the scoreboard. That didn't last for long, though, hitting a double fault in game six to give serve away and allowing Novak to break him again with a backhand return winner for a 6-2. The first break of the second set came in game six when Fish sprayed a forehand error, pulling it back in the very next game after a costly double fault from Djokovic to stay on the positive side of the scoreboard. 

The momentum was now on the side of the American who broke again at 5-5 after a loose backhand from Novak, taking a 6-5 lead and closing the set with a service winner a few minutes later to set the deciding set. There, Djokovic made one of the crucial holds in the opening game after fending off three break points and he stole Fish's serve in the following game with a backhand down the line winner. That proved to be the pivotal stroke of the entire final, with both players serving well in the remaining games. Novak sealed the deal with a service winner in game nine, keeping everything under control behind the initial shot after that shaky first game of the set and conquering what was already the third different Masters 1000 crown at such a young age.

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