1 vs. 2: Federer-Djokovic to meet in Indian Wells final
Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer - the top-two tennis players on the planet - will meet for the 38th time Sunday in the BNP Paribas Open final in Indian Wells, Calif.
Federer, ranked second at the tournament, defeated No. 6 Milos Raonic 7-5, 6-4 in Saturday's semifinal. Raonic had an excellent tournament, breaking up the Big Four reunion by beating Rafael Nadal on Friday in a three-set thriller, but didn't have enough to get past the ageless Federer on Saturday.
"I felt good," said Raonic. "I felt energetic. I felt like I had the right attitude put forward, and I was going to give it my all. I thought a few points here and there made a difference. I tried to put everything out there that I could, and the outcome was as is."
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Federer - who's won 19 sets in a row - played flawless tennis, breaking Raonic twice and holding serve throughout the 90-minute match. Sunday's finale will be the 33-year-old's 40th Masters 1000 final, and he's looking to win at Indian Wells for the fifth time.
Top-ranked Djokovic steamrolled Andy Murray in Saturday's first semifinal.
Federer's 20-17 against Djokovic all time, and has won the last two matches they played, in Dubai earlier this year, and at the ATP World Tour Masters in Shanghai, China, in 2014.
Djokovic beat Federer 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3) in last year's Indian Wells final. It's the first time in the tournament's history that finalists will meet in back-to-back years. These guys spoil us - they really do.