BIG FOUR FEATURE IN STAR-STUDDED MIAMI FIELD

World No. 1 Rafael Nadal leads the 96-man field at the Sony Open Tennis, where 19 of the Top 20 players in the Emirates ATP Rankings are competing, including last week’s Indian Wells champion Novak Djokovic, runner-up Roger Federer and defending Miami champion Andy Murray. 

Nadal is looking to add the elusive Miami crown to his collection of a record 26 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophies. He is a three-time runner-up at the Crandon Park Tennis Center, most recently in 2011 (l. to Djokovic).

Nadal is set to open his campaign against either Robin Haase or Lleyton Hewitt, who is chasing his 600th tour-level victory. The 33-year-old Australian, who won the Brisbane International title in January, is bidding to become the third active player, behind Nadal and Roger Federer, to achieve the career milestone. 

Novak Djokovic Wins Indian wells 2014

Novak Djokovic thwarted Roger Federer 3-6 6-3 7-6(3) in a thrilling final at Indian Wells to clinch the title for a third time.

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

Federer still leads the series 17-16, having beaten recently Djokovic in three sets in the semi-finals at Dubai. Djokovic will remain No.2 in the world, while Federer will rise three spots to No.5 on Monday in the ATP Tour rankings.

It was the Swiss who started brighter as he took the opening set in little over half an hour on court.

Djokovic hit back to take the break in the eighth game of the second set as he capitalised on a poor Federer forehand.

The Serb rallied in the deciding set and took the advantage with an early break; Federer again collapsing with two consecutive forehand errors to hand his opponent the momentum.

Like his semi-final against John Isner on Saturday, Djokovic failed to serve out for the match as Federer hit back from 5-3 down to lead 6-5. However, Djokovic held on to force a tie-break.

Djokovic proved too strong in the breaker as he established a 5-1 lead before sealing victory with his second championship point, inflicting a first Indian Wells final defeat on Federer.

Federer and Djokovic to meet in Indian Wells final

Federer ended the giant-killing run of Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov when he cruised to a 6-3 6-1 victory in a one-sided semi-final that lasted just a tick over an hour.

Then Djokovic succeeded in blunting the booming serve of John Isner to beat the American 7-5 6-7(2) 6-1 and join Federer in Sunday's championship match.

It will be the 33rd time overall and the ninth time in a final that the pair have locked horns. Federer holds a 17-15 lead in their head-to head matches and they are tied 4-4 in finals.

The Swiss master has already won the Indian Wells title four times and made it through to a fifth final without dropping a set in the California desert this week.

Relaxed and super confident after winning his 78th singles title in Dubai earlier this month, Federer pounced on Dolgopolov from the outset, breaking him once to snatch the opening set.

"I was ready physically, mentally," said Dolgopolov.

"I wasn't nervous much, but I wasn't sharp enough. My concentration was going away for maybe one, two points every game, and you can't afford to have that in these matches."

The Ukrainian had beaten three higher ranked players, including world number one Rafa Nadal, to reach the semis but was powerless to stop the 32-year-old Federer, who fired down seven aces in a brilliant serving performance.

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BNP Paribas Open Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic win

Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka is out of the BNP Paribas Open after a shock three-set loss to Kevin Anderson.

It was also Wawrinka’s first loss in 14 matches this year and his first defeat to the South African 17th seed, who will now go on to face Roger Federer in the quarter-final.Wawrinka, seeded three in Indian Wells, was beaten 7-6 (7-1) 4-6 6-1 in his first tournament since his Grand Slam success in Melbourne.

"I knew it's going to happen," Wawrinka said. "I'm not going to keep winning every tournament.

"It took me a lot of energy to come back here, to practice well, to win the first two matches, especially against (Ivo) Karlovic.     

"Today I felt that my energy was a little bit down. Mentally, I wasn't ready."

Roger Federer defeats Tomas Berdych to win Dubai Championships 2014

The 17-time Grand Slam champion proved this week that he still has elite tennis left in him when he defeated No. 2 NovakDjokovic and No. 6 Tomas Berdych to win the Dubai Tennis Championships. It was his sixth title in Dubai and his 78th title overall.

As most things are this late in his legendary career, this victory was very significant for Federer. It broke the tie that he had with John McEnroe to put him alone in third place overall for the most ATP titles in history, behind only Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl.  It also marked the 14th straight year that he has won at least one title.

Beyond the numbers, this title was important for Federer and his morale. Even though Dubai was just an ATP 500 event—a third-tier tournament in the tennis hierarchy—it was Federer's biggest title in nearly two years.

He did it all with moments of pure brilliance and a newfoundcombination of grit and patience that has allowed him to get passed the inevitable late-career rough patches. 

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