Juan Martin Del Potro took his first Masters title at Indian Wells after an extraordinary final against Roger Federer.
The former US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro stunned top-ranked Roger Federer 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-6 (7/2) on Sunday to win his first Indian Wells title and second consecutive ATP crown.
The 29-year-old from Argentina handed Federer his first match defeat of 2018 and extended his own win streak to 11 matches, including a title run earlier this month at Acapulco.
After a rollercoaster of a match which saw the Argentine and his Swiss counterpart took their frustrations out on the umpire, Del Potro found a way to win.
The former US Open champion was forced to save two Championship points.
His blistering forehand caught out Federer many a time, but the match swayed back and forth.
“I’m still shaking,” Del Potro said. “It’s difficult to describe with words. It’s like a dream.”
“I cannot believe I won this tournament, beating Roger in a great final and this level of tennis. We played great tennis today,” Del Potro said.
Del Potro was competing in his first Indian Wells final since 2013, when he lost to Spaniard Rafael Nadal.
It was Del Potro’s seventh victory over Federer in 25 career meetings, one of those wins coming in the 2009 US Open final.
With the win, Del Potro will move up to World No 6 – his best since February 2014. It also takes his unbeaten match run to 11 matches.
Roger Federer, the oldest world number one in ATP history at 36, entered the final having dropped just one set, in a difficult semi-final test from Croatia’s Borna Coric.
Federer’s five Indian Wells titles included last year, when he beat fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka.