Novak Djokovic will aim to become the first man to win consecutive Indian Wells titles since Roger Federer did so just over a decade ago after comfortably brushing aside Andy Murray 6-2 6-3 in Saturday’s semifinals.
And the man standing in the way of back-to-back titles for the World No.1?
None other than Federer himself who used all his experience to overcome big serving Canadian Milos Raonic 7-5 6-4 in the days other semifinal.
Federer will be looking to preserve his decade old record and claim revenge after losing out to Djokovic in a closely-fought final at Indian Wells last year.
“After losing to Novak in the (2014) final … I left a little bit disappointed,” Federer said on court after the match in an interview with the ATP Tour website.
But getting the better of Djokovic Sunday will be no easy task.
The Serb was in imperious form as he broke Murray three times in the first set of the pair’s Saturday matchup, taking control with some searing groundstrokes under the baking California sun.
Murray had said earlier in the week that he had “no issues” with Djokovic, referring to the spiky clash between the two in January’s Australian Open final when Murray felt Djokovic was exaggerating how tired he was on court.
More of an issue Saturday was the ease with which Djokovic had answers for everything the Scot had to throw at him, as well as Murray’s own careless play which led 29 unforced errors.
Djokovic broke again early in the second set and despite the Scot fighting back with some big winners late in the day he couldn’t claw back the deficit.
“I just played solid with the right intensity from the beginning,” Djokovic later said in quotes carried by the AFP news agency.
“I expected a battle with Andy but he wasn’t on the high quality he usually is. He made a lot of unforced errors today.”
Djokovic has now won his last six matches against Murray after losing to him in the 2013 Wimbledon final.
However, his recent record against Federer is less convincing despite his success at Indian Wells last year.
The Swiss master holds a 20-17 career matchup lead between the pair and was in fine fettle as he defeated Djokovic in the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships last month.
Federer matched that majestic form against Raonic Saturday, stopping the man who knocked out Rafael Nadal earlier in the week in his considerable tracks.
“It’s going to be a bit different than in Dubai,” Federer said looking forward to Sunday’s final. “Dubai was a little bit quicker conditions.
“But I’m very happy to be playing so well myself and I hope we can play a good match.”
