Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka set up an all-Swiss final at the Indian Wells Masters with straight-sets semifinal victories. Federer subdued 17th-seeded American Jack Sock 6-1, 7-6 (7/4) to earn a crack at a record-equalling fifth Indian Wells title. US Open champion Wawrinka, past the quarterfinals in the California desert for the first time, knocked out Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-2.
Federer went into his clash with Sock well-rested after his highly anticipated quarterfinal with Nick Kyrgios never materialized as the Australian pulled out with illness he suspected was caused by food poisoning. Federer picked up from where he left off in his previous game against Spain’s Rafael Nadal, racing through the first set in 21 minutes.
But Sock, winner of two titles already this year at Auckland and Delray Beach, raised his game in the second set, which went on serve to the tiebreaker, where Federer won the last three points to seal the win on his first match point. Federer has won 19 of 22 career meetings with Wawrinka, including a semifinal win at the Australian Open in January.
Wawrinka’s path to the final, just his fourth at the elite Masters level, included a close shave against lucky loser Yoshihito Nishioka in the fourth round and a third-set tiebreaker against rising Austrian talent Dominic Thiem in the quarterfinals. Against Spain’s 23rd-ranked Carreno Busta, however, it was clear sailing for the three-time Grand Slam champion, who didn’t face a break point in the 64 minute match.
Djokovic pulls out
World number two Novak Djokovic won't defend his ATP Miami Masters title next week, saying Sunday that he was withdrawing because of injury. "I apologize to my fans and ppl who purchased tickets to watch me play live at @MiamiOpen. Sadly, I'm injured and won't be able to compete," the Serb star said on Twitter. Djokovic joins world number one Andy Murray on the sidelines for the elite hard court tournament.
Published 19 March 2017, 19:33 IST