High five

Indian Wells (USA), March 20

A rejuvenated Roger Federer beat fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka 6-4 7-5 in the BNP Paribas Open final on Sunday to earn a record-tying fifth Indian Wells title and the distinction of being the tournament’s oldest winner.

The 35-year-old, who made a stunning return from a six-month injury layoff to win the Australian Open in January, capped an impressive run in the California desert in which he did not lose a set.

“I have exceeded my expectations. My goal was to be top eight by Wimbledon. This is just a dream start,” Federer, who will climb four spots to world No. 6 on Monday, said. 

“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.” — Reuters