Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, the top two players in the world, met in the Indian Wells final on Sunday (the 2015 BNP Paribas Open). Their match is complete and Djokovic claimed the title, the 50th ATP title of his career, with a 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-2 victory.
With the win, Djokovic avenged a recent loss to Federer. The two players had met on tour not long ago in the ATP Dubai final. On that day, Federer claimed the title however the current World No. 1, who now improves to 18-20 heads up against the Swiss Maestro, would not be denied in the bigger event.
Next up for Djokovic is the 2015 Miami Masters, another Masters Series 1000 tournament that will get underway this week from Florida. Djokovic, following so much hard court success already this season, enters the Miami event as the odds on favorite to win outright (Source: 888Sport).
A large tournament, the final in Miami will not be played until April 5th. Even though Djokovic enters the event having played the most tennis on tour in recent days, fatigue should not be a factor both due to his superior conditioning and the fact that his first match in Miami is still several days away.
Next up for Federer is the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. Federer, who turns 34-years old in 2015, will not contest the Miami draw this season, perhaps electing to better prepare himself for the quickly approaching clay court season. Ahead of the 2015 French Open at Roland Garros later this spring, Federer is also expected to contest ATP Istanbul, ATP Madrid, and ATP Rome.
The complexion of the Top Ten will not change that much following the result from Indian Wells. Milos Raonic, the only surprise semifinalist, will remain the World No. 6 although he is within a stone’s throw of the World No. 3 ranking. David Ferrer will budge up one spot to the World No. 7 position, supplanting Stan Wawrinka, who will drop down to eighth.
Within the Top 100, there will be some shakeups following the results from California. Notably, Alexandr Dolgopolov will fall well out of the Top 50 as he had done well in Indian Wells last season and only made the round of 32 this year. Jack Sock, a player who made the round of sixteen in Indian Wells, will crack the Top 50. Moreover, both Bernard Tomic and Adrian Mannarino will move up a bit following some wins in the Masters Series event.
The upcoming Miami Masters will conclude the American hard court swing with clay court events in Casablanca and Houston to follow.