Indian Wells: Del Potro stuns Federer to lift first Masters title

Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro produced a spirited performance as he bounced back from a set down to beat world number one Roger Federer and clinch the title at the Indian Wells Masters in California on Monday.

Del Potro rallied from three match points down in the third set to clinch a 6-4, 6-7(8), 7-6(2) win over Federer in a thrilling summit showdown clash that lasted two hours and 41 minutes.

Following the win, Del Potro said that he played quite well in the tie-breaker, adding that it was like a dream to win the title after all his problems and surgeries.

"I'm still shaking, I'm so nervous.I was thinking [about missing match points]. I played really well in the [third set] tiebreak ... It's like a dream after all my problems and surgeries. I'm excited to keep surprising the Tour," the Guardian quoted Federer, as saying.

With the win, Del Potro bagged his maiden Masters 1000 title while ending the Swiss star's 17 match winning streak in 2018--the best start of Federer's career.

Del Potro, who was competing in his first Indian Wells final since 2013 where he lost to Spaniard Rafael Nadal, also extended his own winning streak to 11 matches, including a title run at Acapulco earlier this month .

It should be noted that the Argentinean has surged back into the top 10 in ATP men's rankings at the eighth spot after dropping to 1,045th place before beginning his comeback from three left wrist surgeries in 2016.