ThrowbackTimes Indian Wells: Novak Djokovic tops Roger Federer to defend the title

A year after they fought for the title in Indian Wells, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer were in the final again in 2015, with the Serb scoring a 6-3, 6-7, 6-2 victory to defend the crown and become the second player after the Swiss with four titles in the desert. It was the 18th triumph for Novak over Roger, avenging the recent Dubai final loss and adding the second title to his name that season after conquering the Australian Open. The Serb had more service winners than the Swiss and had a clear advantage in the mid-range rallies with five to eight shots, controlling his strokes nicely and hitting a similar number of winners and unforced errors. On the other hand, Roger had a small advantage in the most extended rallies but that wasn't enough to keep him safe in sets he lost, spraying around 40 unforced errors and losing ground in the decider to hand the trophy to Djokovic.

There were 23 break chances up for grabs and it was Novak who handled them more efficiently, fending off eight out of ten break points and delivering five successful return games to cross the finish line first and add the fourth Indian Wells crown to his collection. Djokovic held at love in the first game for the best possible start, followed by Federer who leveled the score at 1-1 before facing a break chance in the fourth game, fending it off and bringing the game home with an ace for a 2-2. What he missed on that occasion, Novak fixed two games later when he broke Roger's serve to move 4-2 in front, firing a service winner to cement the break and open a 5-2 advantage and sealing the set with another booming serve at 5-3. Djokovic repelled a break chance in the second game of the second set with a service winner, moving in front in the next game after a forehand error from the Swiss to take a big step towards the finish line.

Playing against two break points in the next game, Novak remained focused and grabbed four straight points to confirm the break and open a 6-3, 3-1 advantage, leaving Federer with no room for errors. An ace sent Novak 4-2 up, squandering a break chance in the next game that could have sent him closer to the title. Roger saved it to remain within one break deficit, bouncing back entirely with a break in game eight that leveled the score at 4-4 for him. Both players served well in the last four games to set up a tie break where Novak moved 5-3 up when Roger netted a smash.

The Serb hit a double fault at 5-4 to lose the advantage, landing another one in the next point and allowing Federer to complete the breaker on his serve and send the clash into a decider. His joy didn't last for long, though, suffering a break in the second game of the final set before pulling it back in the next game when he seized the fifth chance to stay in touch. The Swiss opened a 40-15 lead in the sixth game before the Serb claimed four straight points to gain a break following a costly double fault from his rival, holding at 15 with an ace to forge a 5-2 advantage and almost secure the win. Federer sprayed a forehand error in the eighth game to lose serve again, propelling Djokovic over the top and staying empty-handed against the Serb for the second straight year in the desert. 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/39Vv78F