Dominic Thiem on Sunday claimed his first Masters 1000 title after coming from a set down to defeat Roger Federer 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 and win the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California.
Momentum swung in Thiem’s favor in the deciding set when he smacked a forehand winner down the line to break Federer and take a 6-5 lead.
The 25-year-old fell on his back and covered his face with his hands when Federer, who had been bidding for a record sixth Indian Wells title and 101st tournament victory, netted on match point.
Thiem, who rose four places to a career-high world No. 4 yesterday, paid tribute to his opponent.
“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,” he told the 20-times Grand Slam champion during the trophy presentation ceremony.
“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,” he said, laughing.
Federer was gracious in defeat after falling in the final in the desert for a second consecutive year.
“It has been a great week for me even though it didn’t work out today,” he said.
“What a great week for Dominic. Wonderful playing at the very end and throughout the week. You deserve it.”
WOMEN’S SINGLES FINAL
Canadian teenager Bianca Andreescu stunned eighth-seeded Angelique Kerber 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 to win the BNP Paribas Open and capture her first career title.
Andreescu overcame a troublesome right shoulder, and used creative and aggressive shotmaking, to defeat the German.
Andreescu dropped her racket and fell on her back when Kerber hit a backhand into the net, giving her the biggest win of her career.
With the win, 18-year-old Andreescu, who was ranked 152 at the end of last season, is expected to reach the WTA top 30.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was