Federer's epic rally sums up record win
Roger Federer had the crowd and commentators on their feet after winning an epic rally during his come-from-behind semi-final win at Indian Wells.
Federer found his way back from a set and a break down to reach his eighth final at the tournament, beating Croatian Borna Coric 5-7 6-4 6-4.
Federer has now extended his unbeaten start to the year to 17 games for the first time in his career.
He broke his previous best start of 16-0 in the Indian Wells quarter-final win over Hyeon Chung and also achieved it in 2006 when he finished the season 92-5.
Federer had to work in challenging and windy conditions on Saturday - in addition to a relatively unorthodox 11am start which required a pre-match plate of pasta two hours before.
The Swiss maestro's battling display was exemplified by a masterful point when the match was delicately poised in the third set.
Federer and Coric traded baseline bombs in a ridiculous 23-shot rally that both men looked likely to win at various stages.
But like he so often does, it was the 36-year-old Swiss who came out on top - finishing off the point with a trademark backhand pass after drawing the Croatian to the net.
"I needed to fight, keep the ball in play and not do too much shot-making in the wind," the 20-time grand slam champion said.
"There was nothing fancy, I was hoping at the end that he might get a bit nervous.
"It was a good match, I was happy with not making a lot of mistakes, there were a lot of turning points in this match."
Federer's only other 11am starts came in finals at Indian Wells in 2004 and at Gstaad in 2011.
Federer lost his first set of the week as he beat Coric for the second time; he will figure in the desert final for the fourth consecutive year as he bids for a sixth trophy at the Tennis Garden.
Federer will face another early start on Sunday in the title match against Juan Martin del Potro, the sixth seed.
The Argentine set up a re-run of the 2009 US Open final in which he defeated Federer, with the Swiss winning their past two meetings in 2017.
The 29-year-old South American beat listless Canadian Raonic 6-2 6-3.
Newly returned to the top 10, Del Potro grabbed the first set 6-2, then benefited as Raonic double-faulted for 1-2 in the one-way contest.
"I was lucky in both sets with early breaks," Del Potro said. "I broke a lot and that was the key to the match. Against Roger I will have to play my best tennis, otherwise I will have little chance.
"I'm healthy now and playing well, that is the most important thing. I'm free of pain and enjoying it again," said the grand slam winner still seeking his first Masters 1000 trophy.
Federer will be bidding for his third ATP title this year and fourth overall after winning the Hopman Cup, Australian Open and Rotterdam, where his quarter-final win put him back on number one ahead of injured Rafael Nadal.
With AAP
