Indian Wells, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Defending champion Novak Djokovic won his fourth Indian Wells title in defeating Roger Federer 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2 on Sunday.
The world No. 1 Djokovic avenged a loss to the second-seeded Federer in last month's Dubai final and beat the Swiss star in the championship match of the BNP Paribas Open for the second straight year.
Djokovic was dominant early behind a precise service game, stumbled and then regained his strong form to capture his 50th career title and match Federer for the most titles at this Masters 1000 series event.
The Serbian connected on 100 percent (17-for-17) of his first serves in the opening set.
Djokovic had a break point on Federer's serve leading 4-2 in the second, but he couldn't convert. He then netted a forehand as Federer broke to level the set at 4-all.
Federer fell behind 5-3 in the tiebreak, but rallied to force a third set.
Djokovic, whose consecutive double faults gave Federer a set point, responded by breaking to go up 2-0 in the third.
Federer squandered four break points in the next game before Djokovic netted a backhand. He then wasted a 40-15 lead in the sixth game and double faulted to give Djokovic a 4-2 lead.
After Djokovic closed out a hold with the last of his eight aces, Federer sent a forehand wide to end the 38th match between the legends. Federer leads 20-18 in the head-to-head meetings.
Fox News First
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.