Just two months after winning his 18th Grand Slam title, Roger Federer won the first ATP Masters 1000 event of the year and his fifth title at Indian Wells, equaling Novak Djokovic's record of five titles.
It was an all-Swiss encounter as Federer met Stan Wawrinka in Sunday's final. Federer having been sidelined for almost six months last year has made an incredible return to the game, winning his second title in the space of eight weeks.
On his way to the final he defeated Robert Stephane, Steve Johnson, he had a walkover against Nick Kyrgios and he beat Jack Sock in the semis. He also defeated Rafael Nadal in the fourth round, only dropping five games in the process.
He walked in a champion, he leaves a champion.@rogerfederer earns a 5th #IndianWells 🆠to tie Novak Djokovic w/ tournament record #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/s7AocAaRNE
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 19, 2017
It was another cracking final that saw two very good friends go head to head. Federer won 6-4, 7-5 in a very high quality match. Remarkably, Federer only dropped his service once in the whole tournament which came in the very first game of the second set in the final. He also didn't lose a set all week.
The Swiss star seems to be playing the best tennis of his life and for tennis fans it really has been a period to enjoy. His serve looks better than it ever has and he seems to be taking the ball a lot earlier giving his opponents less time on the ball.
"For me, the dream run continues," said Federer. "The fairytale of the comeback that I have already shown in Australia."
"I'm not as surprised as I was in Australia, but still this comes as a big, big surprise to me, nevertheless, to win here again and beating the players that I did and the way I did. I couldn't be more happy."
"It's an absolutely huge start to the year for me. Last year I didn't win any titles. The change is dramatic, and it feels great."
25 @ATPWorldTour Masters 1000 titles later...@rogerfederer: Still signing. Still smiling. pic.twitter.com/6oA4oYKCCL
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 20, 2017
The win puts Federer up to sixth in the ATP Tour Rankings. He was 17th before the Australian Open and he is moving his way up very rapidly. Nadal now lies seventh.
Federer has now won 90 tour level titles and 25 Masters 1000 events. At 35 years of age he is now the oldest winner of a Masters title . 34-year-old Andre Agassi previously held the record after winning the Cincinnati Masters in 2004.
It is the second time this year Wawrinka has fallen to Federer, having suffered a heartbreaking five-set loss in the Australian Open semi-finals in January.
The next Masters 1000 event begins this Thursday in Miami. Wawrinka will be the number one seed with Djokovic and Murray absent due to injury. Federer will go into the tournament as hot favourite. If the world number six could pick up his third title this year he could climb as high as fourth in the world.
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