Federer tops Wawrinka in all-Swiss Indian Wells final
Vesnina outlasts Kuznetsova
INDIAN WELLS, California, March 20, (RTRS): A rejuvenated Roger Federer beat fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 7-5 in the BNP Paribas Open final on Sunday to earn a record-tying fifth Indian Wells title and the distinction of being the tournament’s oldest winner.
The 35-year-old Swiss, who made a stunning return from a six-month injury layoff to win the Australian Open in January, capped an impressive run in the California desert in which he did not lose a set.
“I have totally exceeded my expectations. My goal was to be top eight by Wimbledon. This is just a dream start,” Federer, who will climb four spots to world number six on Monday, told Sky Sports courtside.
“I understand the talk about (me getting back to) world number one with Andy (Murray) and Novak (Djokovic) not playing well and I’ll try to back it up. But this is my 90th (tour-level) title so I’ll try to enjoy this first.” The rematch of the Australian Open semi-final saw the close friends hold serve until the 10th game of the opening set when Federer, ahead 5-4, outlasted Wawrinka in a thrilling 21-shot rally for the service break.
Wawrinka, making his first appearance in an Indian Wells final, came out firing in the second set as he became the first player to break Federer this fortnight and then saved a pair of break points in the next game to move ahead 2-0.
But Federer never wavered as he coolly won the next three games and then broke Wawrinka in the 12th game to close out the match in 80 minutes.
On championship point, Federer jumped right on Wawrinka’s serve and quickly had his compatriot running back and forth along the baseline.
Finally, when Wawrinka reached out desperately to send a forehand back, Federer charged to the net and slammed down a running forehand to clinch the title.
While the defeat left Wawrinka an emotional wreck, with the teary-eyed US Open champion calling himself
Roger Federer, of Switzerland, celebrates his 6-4, 7-5 win over Stan Wawrinka, of Switzerland, in the men’s final of the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament, on March 19. (AP)
dad, both cheering for Ashely from the stands.
“It actually feels great to win my first World Cup Gold medal in front of them, we live in California, so it’s quite easy to come here in Mexico. It’s been great to feel their support and my teammates’ support all along the qualifications round and through the final match,” Carroll said at the end of the award ceremony.
By finishing with the same score at the end of the regular 50 targets, Carroll and Rooney also bested the scored nailed by Australia’s Penny Smith in New Delhi (IND) last month, and they now co-own the World Record in the women’s Trap event.
Alessandra Perilli (28) of San Marino completed the podium by finishing 3rd with 30 target hits, collecting the sixth World Cup medal of her career.
After missing 5 of her first 10 targets, Spain’s Fatima Galvez (30) avoided elimination after target 25 and target 30, eventually landing in 4th place with 26 target hits. The seventime World Cup medalist left the final match because of a lower qualification ranking compared to Perilli’s.
Galvez was followed by Australia’s 24-year-old Emma Elizabeth Cox, who concluded in 4th position with 23 hits, and Italy’s 41-year-old Deborah Gelisio, a former ISSF World Champion in Lonato (ITA) in 2005 who finished in 6th place with 17 hits out of 25 targets..
The ISSF World Cup Stage 2 in Acapulco will continue tomorrow with the trap Men final, scheduled at 3:00 pm (UTC-6:00).