Novak Djokovic defeats Rafael Nadal to claim Indian Wells Crown
World number 2 Novak Djokovic stunned world number 1 Rafael Nadal to claim the BNP Paribas Open 2011 trophy in three sets. The 23-year-old Serb extended his 2011 unbeaten streak to 20 matches and won his third straight tournament
of the year, proving to the world that there indeed is a new top name in tennis. He took two hours and twenty five minutes to come up from a set down and defeat Nadal 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Djokovic does not have a good record against Nadal in tournament finals. In fact, before this, the Spaniard had won each of the 5 previous encounters in finals. The man from Mallorca also led their head-to-head 16-7. But Djokovic
is playing the best tennis of his career right now. The Serb lost only 12 games in his run to the semi-finals, and despite losing a set there to Roger Federer, was dominant none the less. Nadal had also only dropped a single set coming into the final, against
Ivo Karlovic in the quarters, but had been jittery throughout his campaign.
Punishing jitters has been a favorite hobby of Djokovic this season, as he has already proved thrice against Federer. The Swiss Maestro's every mistake has been punished by the young upstart, and each of their three matches, Djokovic
has come out on top. Nadal however, is usually a tougher opponent than Federer. The Spaniard's body and mind both are rock hard, and maintaining an advantage over the 24 year old is almost impossible.
When the first set started out, things looked like they were going to run their predicted course. Nadal delivered 57 per cent of his first serves correctly and won 78 per cent of his service points to dominate the game. Djokovic
did manage to land in 56 per cent of his first serves, but was much worse at converting serves into points, only getting 59 per cent of the points on his serve. This allowed Nadal to create 6 chances to break, and he utilized to of them to take the set, despite
being broken once himself.
In the second set, the Djoker hit back. He served in 68 per cent of his first serves and won 61 per cent of his service points to race ahead. Nadal's first serve was atrocious; he only managed to land it in 6 times out of 24. He
did not concede much on serve though, still winning 58 per cent of the points. This meager difference, however, was enough for Djokovic to break twice, and in a reversal, he took the second set despite being broken once too.
The final set saw Djokovic completely dominate the game. The Serb won an amazing 16 out of 17 points on his own serve and 50 per cent of Nadal's service points to break twice from two chances and take the set, the match and the
championship.
With this victory, Novak Djokovic has cemented his status as one of the best three players in the world. With his victories over both Federer and Nadal, the 23-year-old is truly coming into his own now.
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