JOIN USRoger Federer and Novak Djokovic set up another mouthwatering final at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells after winning their semis on Saturday.
Federer ended the giant-killing run of Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov when he cruised to a 6-3, 6-1 victory in a one-sided semifinal that lasted just a tick over an hour.
Then Djokovic succeeded in blunting the booming serve of John Isner to beat the American 7-5, 6-7 (2-7), 6-1 and join Federer in Sunday's championship match.It will be the 33rd time overall and the ninth time in a final that the pair have locked horns. Federer holds a 17-15 lead in their head-to head matches and they are tied 4-4 in finals.
The Swiss master has already won the Indian Wells title four times and made it through to a fifth final without dropping a set in the California desert this week.Isner upset Djokovic in the semifinals at Indian Wells two years ago but the Serbian was better prepared this time.
The key to beating the 6’10’’ (2.08metre) Isner has always revolved around how his opponents cope with his devastating serve.
Djokovic had to save three set points on his serve in the 10th game of the opening set. But in the following game, Djokovic made his move, breaking Isner's serve for the first time then serving out the set.
Djokovic twice had the chance to serve out the match in the second but faltered each time as Isner forced a tie-break, which he won to set off a deafening roar in the stadium .In the deciding set, it was all Djokovic as Isner began to struggle with fitness, and the Serbian seized his opportunity.
Sania-Cara loseIndia’s Sania Mirza and her Zimbabwean partner Cara Black went down to top seeds Hsieh Su-Wei of Taiwan and Peng Shuai of China in the women’s doubles final on Saturday.
Hseih and Peng maintained their perfect record in the finals, improving to an 11-0 mark with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 win over Sania and Cara.