Del Potro rallies to beat Federer

Juan Martin del Potro rallied from three match points down in the third set and beat topranked Roger Federer 6-4, 6-7 (8), 7-6 (2) to win the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, Calif., handing the Swiss superstar his first loss of the year.

Del Potro became the first Argentine winner in the 42-year history of the desert tournament as Federer’s 17-match winning streak — the best start of his career — ended.

Del Potro held a match point at 8-7 in the secondset tiebreaker, but he lost the final three points on his own errors that allowed Federer to force a third set.

They were on serve in the third until Federer broke for a 5-4 lead with a backhand winner off del Potro’s serve.

Federer had a chance to serve out the match, holding two match points, but del Potro staved both off to force deuce.

Federer’s forehand went long, giving del Potro a break point. Federer answered with a backhand that hit del Potro at the net and then gained his third match point on del Potro’s forehand error.

Del Potro recovered to deuce with a forehand winner. Federer miss-hit a forehand high into the air beyond the baseline, giving del Potro another break point. The Argentine cashed in with a wellplaced forehand in the corner to tie the set at 5.

In the tiebreaker, Del Potro raced to a 6-1 lead, helped by two of Federer’s double faults.

He closed out the win on his third match point when Federer’s forehand failed.

Naomi Osaka of Japan won the women’s title with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Russian Daria Kasatkina.