Dominic Thiem ended Roger Federer’s bid for a record sixth Indian Wells title with a battling three-set victory in the final in California.
The Austrian seventh seed fought back to beat Federer 3-6 6-3 7-5.
Swiss Federer, a 20-time Grand Slam champion, converted just two of 11 break points and made 32 unforced errors to Thiem’s 25.
Thiem secured his first title at a Masters 1000 event and will rise to fourth in the world rankings on Monday.
Federer, who lost last year’s final in Indian Wells to Juan Martin del Potro, made a confident start.
He created early break opportunities in Thiem’s first service game and converted his fourth break point of the opening set for a 2-0 lead.
Thiem, competing in his third Masters 1000 final, forced the error out of Federer’s backhand to get back on serve, but the Swiss kept him under pressure.
A fine backhand return of serve allowed Federer to break for a 5-3 lead, and he closed out the set in 36 minutes.
Federer looked comfortable and quickly created another two break opportunities in the second set, but the 37-year-old squandered them both.
A poor service game, with Federer rushing his approaches to the net, allowed Thiem to break and the Austrian held his nerve to force an unlikely third set.
Thiem saved a break point in a game lasting eight minutes to hold for 4-4, and overcame a nasty fall to break Federer three games later and serve for the title.
The Austrian, who won 70% of first-serve points, wrapped up the win when Federer sent a return into the net.
Federer, who won his 100th ATP title in Dubai in the week before Indian Wells, will move to fifth in the world rankings. –BBC