Double blow for Federer

Swiss loses semis and No.2 ranking to Djokovic,who plays Nadal in final

Novak Djokovic extended his perfect record this season to 17-0 with a thrilling 6-3 3-6 6-2 victory over three-times champion Roger Federer on Saturday to reach the Indian Wells final.

Djokovic,who will replace Federer as world number two when the new rankings are issued on Monday,broke his opponent three times in a third set of brilliant shot-making to triumph in just over two hours.

The Serb will face top seed Rafa Nadal for the title on Sunday,the Spanish left-hander having come from 1-4 down to go past Juan Martin del Potro 6-4 6-4 in the first semi-final.

Nadal,covering the court with lightning speed,broke del Potros serve three times in a high-quality encounter to win in one hour 51 minutes.

That was the biggest test of the tournament for me today, Djokovic said courtside after sealing victory when a Federer backhand service return flew long. Any time I play Roger,its a big challenge.

Djokovic felt the fifth game of the third set,when he came from 15-40 down on Federers serve to win 11 points in a row,had paved the way for his third successive victory over the Swiss this year.

A mouth-watering final set was on the cards after Djokovic won the first set and Federer the second,each of them after breaking twice with scintillating form from the baseline.

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At that point,Federer appeared to have the momentum but it was short-lived as he failed to hold serve in the opening game of the third set. Although he broke back with a dazzling display in the fourth when his opponent double-faulted,the Swiss failed to hold serve in the fifth and seventh games as the Serb took control.

Djokovic squandered one match point before booking his place in the final on the second attempt when a fading Federer pushed a backhand return long.

I had my chances today in the singles, Federer said hours later after he and fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka were beaten 6-4 6-7 10-7 in the mens doubles final by Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov and Belgian Xavier Malisse.

Djokovic has been the dominant figure in the mens game this year,crushing Andy Murray 6-4 6-2 6-3 to claim his second Australian Open title in January and then outplaying Federer 6-3 6-3 to win last months Dubai championships. Ive played the best tennis of my life in the last three months 8230; I think I deserve it, the Serb said of his imminent return to second in the ATP rankings.

Sania-Elena take doubles crown

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Sania Mirza and Elena Vesnina clinched their first title in just their third WTA event,beating eighth seeds Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Meghann Shaughnessy 6-0 7-5. 8220;We weren8217;t even supposed to play here,because initially I wasn8217;t going to play Indian Wells. Now we8217;re planning to play the rest of the year,8221; Sania said.