Dominic Thiem defeated Roger Federer 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 to win the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. It was Thiem’s first Masters 1000 title. Last year, Federer lost to Juan Martin Del Potro in the final in a third set tie-break in 2018.
After splitting the first two sets, Thiem trailed Federer 5-4 in the third set before breaking Federer with a forehand winner to go up 6-5. Thiem then served out the match without much trouble.
Thiem has 2-2 record against Federer and had lost in his previous two ATP Masters 1000 finals. But the 25-year-old Austrian’s solid serve and goundstrokes held up well against Federer as it had throughout the tournament.
“It feels just unreal what happened in this 10 days during the tournament,” Thiem said. “I came from a really bad form in all categories, and now I’m the champion of Indian Wells. It feels not real at all. It was a great week, and I think also a very good final today. Just amazing that I got here, my first really big title.”
“He stayed cool under pressure there,” Federer said.
18-year old Canadian Bianca Andreescu became the first wildcard and the second youngest winner at Indian Wells with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win overAngelique Kerber. The Andreescu story was one no one saw coming.
Andreescu knocked out four top-20 players during the two-week tournament, including an emphatic quarterfinals, a 6-0, 6-1 rout of two-time major champion Garbine Muguruza.
“The fricking champion of Indian Wells,” Andreescu said. “It’s crazy.”
“Hopefully this moment can be a great inspiration for many young athletes because, like I always say, if you believe in yourself, anything is possible,” Andreescu said in her on-court interview. “And like my mom always told me through the years, if you work hard, you dream big to get big, then you can accomplish so many things.
“That’s what I’ve been doing throughout many years, and now this moment has become a reality, so it’s really, really crazy.”
Andreescu is projected to move to No. 24 in the new WTA rankings.
Andreescu, who had made around $350,000 in her career before Sunday will leave Indian Wells with a $1.35M payday.