Indian Wells, California - World number one Novak Djokovic defended his Indian Wells title, beating Roger Federer 6-3 6-7(5) 6-2 in the final of the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday.
Federer fought back in the second set, winning the tie-break with the help of three double-faults from the Serb, but Djokovic recovered in the deciding set for his 50th career ATP win.
The only other male player to have won Indian Wells four times was Federer himself, but against the confident and in-form Djokovic he never truly threatened.
Djokovic had beaten Andy Murray in his semi-final in convincing fashion and showed the same ruthless efficiency in the opening set against Federer.
The Serb broke in the fifth game and with his powerful, deep returns he caused constant problems for his opponent.
He dropped just four points on serve and after taking the opening set, it was hard to see how the 33-year-old Swiss could recover.
But Federer, trailing 4-3, lifted his game to break Djokovic, bringing the Californian crowd to their feet.
Djokovic served for the championship at 5-4 in the tiebreak but gave up two double-faults, allowing Federer to force a third set that had looked an unlikely prospect.
World number one Djokovic stole an early break and looked back in command at 2-0, but Federer rallied again to break back.
Ultimately it was double-faults from the Swiss that proved costly, allowing Djokovic to break again and then hold firm for victory.
Reuters