INDIAN WELLS, Calif. _ Two drop shots, two shots among the hundreds that Roger Federer hit during his stroll to the finals of the BNP Paribas Open, made the difference between the Swiss master capturing a record sixth championship here and Austria's Dominic Thiem instead clutching the victor's trophy and joking he was now merely 88 titles behind Federer on the career wins list. "It's unreal," Thiem marveled after his 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 triumph at Indian Wells Tennis Garden, the 12th title of his career.
It certainly was unexpected, this breaching of Federer's armor in his second straight runner-up finish here. Federer hadn't dropped a set in his previous four matches, had been broken only once, and was physically fresh following a walkover in the semifinals due to Rafael Nadal's knee injury.
Federer, seeded No. 4, built a 3-0 lead 14 minutes into the first set on Sunday and won it on his second set point; he looked a bit off at times during the second set but that was because of elevated play from the hard-hitting Thiem, who's younger by 12 years at 25 and also benefited from a walkover, when Gael Monfils withdrew before the quarterfinals.
