INDIAN WELLS: Cracking winners off his forehand in key moments, Juan Martin del Potro defeated top-ranked Novak Djokovic 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday, handing the Serb his first loss in 21 matches dating to last October.
Del Potro snapped his own four-match skid against Djokovic, who had beaten the Argentine in eight of 10 career meetings.
Del Potro’s 133-mph ace closed out the nearly 3-hour match featuring nine breaks of serve in 96-degree heat. He raised both arms in celebration and Djokovic hugged him at the net.
Del Potro, the second Argentine to reach the final here, will play Rafael Nadal for the title on Sunday (early Monday morning in India). They each have three wins against each other on hard courts.
Nadal rallied to beat Tomas Berdych 6-4, 7-5 in the other semi and reach his fourth ATP Tour final in as many events.
Off to the best start of his career, Nadal improved to 16-1 – including 13 wins in a row – on the year, having won two clay-court titles and been runner-up in another since returning from a left knee injury that idled him for seven months.
Top-seeded Bob and Mike Bryan won the men’s doubles title for the first time in 14 tries, defeating Treat Huey of the Philippines and Jerzy Janowicz of Poland 6-3, 3-6, 10-6.
The only Masters 1000 doubles titles the Bryans hadn’t won were at Indian Wells and Shanghai. The victory extends their record for most doubles titles as a team to 86. It was their fourth title of the year, including the Australian Open.
