Djokovic, Fish to meet in final
When the day began I best most people thought (or were hoping for) a Roger Federer/Rafael Nadal final at Indian Wells. Well, Mardy Fish and Novak Djokovic had other plans. Djokovic, who lost to Nadal in last year’s final, avenged that loss with a 6-3, 6-2 dismantling of the world’s #2 ranked player. So far this year it has been Djokovic, not Federer or Nadal, that has stepped up on the bigger stages, and now he will have the chance to win his second big title of the year.
For Fish, he becomes the first American man to defeat Federer in 42 matches, stunning him 6-3, 6-2! I’m guessing that Fish wouldn’t be the first name that comes to mind when thinking about American players to end that streak. Players such as Roddick and Blake, and to a lesser extent Sam Querrey and John Isner would probably be considered first. Fish won the first set in 34 minutes and the match was over in just over an hour, as Fish will now try to win his third career ATP singles title (and his first Masters Series event). He is 0-1 against Djokovic in his career, with that loss coming in 2006 at the US Open.
Federer came into the Pacific Life Open having lost two consecutive matches, but he did beat Pete Sampras in an exhibition at MSG right before the tournament began. Lingering questions about Fed will remain, mainly because he is a victim of the ridiculous standards that we have become accustomed to. Could we be seeing a changing of the guards at the top of the rankings? Not yet if you ask me.
Here is some video of the end of the Federer/Fish match (sorry that it is shaky, don’t blame me!)…
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