Dominic Thiem won his first Masters 1000 title after defeating Roger Federer 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 to win the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday in Indian Wells.
Momentum shifted towards Thiem’s in the final set where he stopped Federer from picking a lead. The 25 year old Australian covered his face after getting the match point.
Federer who was in quest for a 101st tournament victory and a record sixth Indian Wells title. After the win Thiem’s moved to his career best ranking to world number four, and he had some kind words for Federer.
“It is such a pleasure to compete with you, to learn so much from you, and to play with one of the biggest legends of all time. I feel like it’s not my right to congratulate you, you have 88 more titles than me, so I’m just hoping you play more and we can have some other big finals,” Thiem’s during the trophy presentation ceremony.
Roger Federer after the loss said, “It has been a great week for me even though it didn’t work out today. What a great week for Dominic. Wonderful playing at the very end and throughout the week. You deserve it.”