Djokovic destroys Raonic to win 5th Indian Wells title
Novak Djokovic won his record fifth Indian Wells championship Sunday with a comprehensive 6-2, 6-0 victory over Milos Raonic in the BNP Paribas Open final.
It's Djokovic's 27th career ATP Masters 1000 title, equaling Rafael Nadal's all-time record.
Raonic, who looked to be slightly hobbled and required a medical timeout between sets, couldn't muster the powerful service game - his greatest weapon - to punch through Djokovic's steely defensive armor. Raonic hit just four aces, landed just 50 percent of his first serves, and, most alarmingly, lost 27 of 30 second-serve points. The result was that he was broken five times in seven service games. He came in having held serve at a 94-percent rate in 2016.
Djokovic was nearly flawless. After going up a break in the match's first game, he was able to relax and swing freely. After a week in which he played effective but often unspectacular tennis, he came out locked in, hitting all his spots, making hardly any mistakes, returning like a man possessed, and capitalizing on his opponent's hampered mobility. It was a beatdown with no let-up.
Raonic appeared to be suffering from the lingering effects of the adductor injury he suffered in the Australian Open semifinals nearly eight weeks ago.
"(It felt) similar, but not as bad," said the 12th-ranked Canadian, who plans to get the injury evaluated before deciding whether to participate at the Miami Open this week. "I have to do the right investigation. Just sort of see what it is and then I can judge it from there."
It was the third Masters 1000 finals appearance for Raonic, and the third time he's been turned away in straight sets (the second time by Djokovic). But despite the disappointing result, the 25-year-old is understandably pleased with how he's started his 2016 season, with a semifinal and now final berth at two of the three biggest hardcourt events of the year.
"To be here playing in the final of one of the most important tournaments in our year is great progress. I look to sort of keep that going forward, try to be healthy and try to get better every day."