MANILA, Philippines - Matapos magkampeon sa Australian Open noong Enero mula sa isang six-month injury layoff ay isinunod naman ni Swiss superstar Roger Federer ang korona ng BNP Paribas Open.
Ito ay makaraang talunin ni Federer ang kababayang si Stan Wawrinka, 6-4, 7-5 sa finals at hirangin bilang pinakamatandang kampeon ng BNP Paribas Open.
Sinabi ng 35-anyos na si Federer na ang pagpasok lamang sa top eight sa buong mundo ang una niyang hinangad.
“I have totally exceeded my expectations. My goal was to be top eight by Wimbledon. This is just a dream start,” wika ni Federer, umakyat sa World No. 6 rankings mula sa pagiging No. 10.
Ito ang pang-limang Indian Wells title ni Federer.
“I understand the talk about (me getting back to World No. 1 with Andy (Murray) and Novak (Djokovic) not playing well and I’ll try to back it up. But this is my 90th (tour-level) title so I’ll try to enjoy this first,” sabi ni Federer.
Halos maiyak naman si Wawrinka, nagkampeon sa nakaraang U.S. Open, matapos ang nasabing laro.
Sa all-Russian women’s final, tinakasan ni Elena Vesnina ang kababayang si Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6-7 (6), 7-5, 6-4 para angkinin ang pinakamalaking tagumpay sa kanyang career.
Tuluyan nang nakamit ni Vesnina ang panalo nang mapalakas ang service return ng eighth seeded na si Kuznetsova sa third set.
“I was playing a bit more free when I was down in the score and I think Svetlana got a bit tight on some moment and I saw that and I just took my chances,” wika ni Vesnina, nakakuha ng WTA titles sa Eastbourne at Hobart noong 2013.