Novak Djokovic became the first man in history to win the BNP Paribas Masters on five separate occasions after producing a crushing 6-2, 6-0, win over an injury-plague Milos Raonic in Indian Wells.
Playing in his fifth final at the California tournament, Djokovic overcame a testing opening match against American qualifier Bjorn Fratangelo before later producing straight sets wins over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Rafael Nadal to reach his 39th final at a Masters event. In contrast, Raonic defeated Tomas Berdych, Gael Monfils and David Goffin to reach his third Masters final.
Seeking an historic fifth title in the desert, Djokovic dominated proceedings from the onset by breaking Raonic in the first game of the match. Squandering his first break point, it was better luck for the Serbian with his second after a forehand shot from his opponent landed in the tramlines. The early momentum continued in Djokovic’s favor against Raonic, who displayed rare glimpses of his talent. The top seed cruised to a double break for 3-0 following a cross-court unforced error from the Canadian.
Djokovic’s dominance was displayed by him winning 12/15 return points in the first three games of the match. As the set drifted away from the Canadian, Raonic finally got himself on the scoreboard in the fifth game with the help of a deep serve down the line. Despite the rise in Raonic’s game as the set progressed, it was still not enough to tame a flawless Djokovic. Serving for the first set, Djokovic concluded a perfectly constructed rally with a deep forehand down the line, forcing his opponent to return the ball in the net, to lead 40-0. Failing to convert the first two set points, the world No.1 was handed the set after error No.15 sailed of Raonic’s racket.
Watch: @DjokerNole saves his best set of the tournament for finals day. Takes first set 6-2 off #Raonic. #ATP https://t.co/fFTrrGzAqD
— TennisTV (@TennisTV) 20 March 2016
The odd thing about the first first set was that it was Raonic who produced the highest amount of winners (11 compared to Djokovic’s eight). The telling factor was the unforced error count, which was four from the Serbian compared to 15 from his rival.
One explanation for Raonic’s slump became apparent when he took a three-minute timeout after dropping the opening set. The Canadian has been hampered by injury through 2016 and missed all of February due to an abductor issue.
The odds of Raonic staging a shock comeback rapidly declined after Djokovic broke with ease once again at the start to the second set before holding his serve to love for a 2-0 lead. As the Canadian moved gingerly around the court, the majority of rallies was decided by a series of blistering forehand winners flying of Djokovic’s Racket. Djokovic knew how to take advantage of his opponent’s biggest weapon, his serve, leaving the Canadian without a plan B. He moved to a game away from the title after a seemingly straightforward forehand from the Canadian shot into the sky above, prompting a sense of despair from the American crowd. Facing little resistance, Djokovic clinched his 27th Masters 1000 title after a forehand from Raonic failed to go over the net.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Novak Djokoviccccc!”
Watch @DjokerNole‘s winning moment for a 5th IW title #BNPPO16https://t.co/Vv6ymfaVkM
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) 20 March 2016
During his one-sided encounter, the world No.1 produced 15 winners and only four unforced errors. Furthermore, Djokovic won 79% of first service points and claimed 9/10 points at the net. During his award ceremony, the 28-year-old wished his injured opponent a speedy recovery.
“I am sorry that you were not at your best today, and I hope you heal yourself in time for Miami“. The world No.1 said.
The Serbian then made an interesting comment by publicly expressing his support for the tournament to be upgraded to a special Masters status. Recently the tournament has been in discussions with the ATP surrounding upgrading the event to a ‘Super Masters’ event. The proposals will move the event higher than the current Masters 1000 status, but still below the superiority of the Grand Slam tournaments.
“I truly believe that this tournament deserves to be a level higher than it is now. Between 1000 and grand slam there is nothing, but we could create something for Indian Wells.” Djokovic said.
The triumph has now placed Djokovic at joint first with Rafael Nadal for the most Masters titles in history with 27 each. The world No.1 has won eight out of the last 11 Masters tournaments.
