Thiem edges Federer for Indian Wells title
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – Dominic Thiem edged error-prone Roger Federer 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 to win the BNP Paribas Open, denying Federer a record sixth title in the desert while claiming the biggest title of his career.
Thiem trailed 4-3 and 5-4 in the third set before breaking Federer with a forehand winner to go up 6-5. Thiem served out the two-hour match Sunday that ended with another error from Federer, a forehand dumped into the net.
Federer lost in the final for the second straight year. He was beaten in a thirdset tiebreaker by Juan Martin del Potro last year.
Thiem had lost in his previous two ATP Masters 1000 finals. But the 25year-old Austrian’s solid serve held up against Federer as it had throughout the tournament.
Earlier Sunday, Bianca Andreescu upset three-time major champion Angelique Kerber 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to, becoming at age 18 the first wild-card winner in tournament history.
The Canadian overcame nerves, arm and leg issues in the final set to earn the first title of her fledgling career.
Andreescu won on her fourth match point when Kerber netted a backhand. She broke Kerber three times in the third set, rallying from a 3-2 deficit to take four of the final five games.
Andreescu dropped her racket near the baseline and fell on her back, her legs in the air as she covered her face in disbelief. After getting up and exchanging kisses with Kerber, the teen bent down and kissed the sunbaked hard court and dropped to her back again, her arms and legs splayed, before grabbing her head. “This moment has become a reality so it’s really, really crazy,” Andreescu told the crowd before speaking a bit of Romanian.
Born in Canada, she later moved to Romania with her parents and first started playing tennis.
Kerber was the last of five seeded players that Andreescu knocked off in her seven matches in the desert.
The Canadian followed in the footsteps of Naomi Osaka, who was a littleknown 20-year-old when she won the title last year. Osaka used it as a springboard to win titles at the U.S. and Australian opens while ascending to the No. 1 ranking in January.