Novak Djokovic came to Indian Wells for the first time in four years without a title this season.

He left with a $1 million check and his first trophy of the year, beating Roger Federer 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3) on Sunday to win the BNP Paribas Open for the third time.

"Not winning a title and coming here, there were certain doubts," Djokovic said. "I had ups and downs in my concentration in the opening rounds, but I managed to stay mentally strong and have that self-belief. That's something that definitely makes this title very special to me."

Federer rallied from a break down and a 5-3 deficit in the third set to force the tiebreaker, but he made a slew of mistakes to lose the 33rd meeting between the rivals.

Federer still leads the series 17-16, having beaten Djokovic in three sets in the semifinals at Dubai two weeks ago.

Djokovic will remain No 2 in the world, while Federer will rise three spots to No 5 on Monday in the ATP Tour rankings.

Federer was trying to win a record fifth title in the Southern California desert, and at 32 he would have been the oldest Masters 1000 winner since 34-year-old Andre Agassi won at Cincinnati in 2004.

But Djokovic wouldn't allow it.

After Federer breezed to the first set in 31 minutes, Djokovic earned the lone break of the second set to go up 5-3 after Federer pulled a forehand wide.

"I know he always comes out confident, aggressive," Djokovic said. "He doesn't give you the victory; you have to earn it."

The Swiss star stumbled as the match wore on.

"I was able to just keep the pressure on Novak and show him that if he slips up, I will be there and I will make it a very competitive match in the end for him," Federer said.

"At the end, he made sure he kept the ball in play and I might have made a few too many errors."

- Associated Press

(China Daily 03/18/2014 page23)