Novak Djokovic, Victoria Azarenka roll to easy title wins at Indian Wells

Indian Wells Novak Djokovic rolled past Milos Raonic 62 60 to win the BNP Paribas Open for a record fifth time while improving to 221 in matches this year It was the Serbs third consecutive title in the California desert breaking a tie with fourtime champion Roger Federer who lost to Djokovic the past two years in the final and skipped this year because of a knee injuryNovak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates with the winners trophy after defeating Milos Roanic of Canada during the mens final of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells PicAFPThe womens final was equally onesided Victoria Azarenka defeated errorprone Serena Williams 64 64 returning Azarenka to the worlds top 10 for the first time since August 2014 Djokovic needed an hour 17 minutes to dispatch Raonic whose big serve got broken five times The 25yearold Canadian served just four aces and had 27 unforced errors His first serve averaged 128 mph much faster than Djokovics 111 mph but he connected on only 55 percent The Serb landed 68 percent of his first serves and was never brokenClearly the crowd favorite Williams gave fans little to cheer about on an unseasonable 91degree 32 C day while making 33 unforced errors After getting broken to trail 30 in the second set Williams returned to her seat and smashed her racket Trailing 51 Williams won three straight games and held two break points on Azarenkas serve in the last game But Williams ended the match with three straight errorsJust unexpected nerves maybe I definitely didnt expect to be on that stage again said Williams who was back at Indian Wells after ending her 14year boycott last year It was Azarenkas first victory over the topranked Williams since the Cincinnati final in August 2013 She will move up seven spots to No 8 in the WTA Tour rankings MondayAzarenka who won here in 2012 hit just 10 winners and had 20 unforced errors in the 2hour match She connected on 60 percent of her first serves and broke Williams serve three times Williams converted just 1 of 12 break chances I have to go for it Azarenka said Shes not a type of player that if youre going to play safe shes going to give it to you or shes going to miss You really have to go out there and take away because there is nothing coming easyThe crowd including Queen Latifah was eager to support Williams One fan held up a sign reading Go Serena We straight outta Compton in a nod to the ganginfested Los Angeles suburb where the Williams sisters learned to play tennis Williams was bidding to become the first woman to win three titles at Indian Wells where she won in 1999 and 2001After getting booed heavily while beating Kim Clijsters for her last title here she vowed never to return That year the Williams sisters were supposed to meet in a semifinal but Venus withdrew shortly before the match with a knee injury The crowd reacted harshly and their father Richard said he heard racial tauntsObviously the last time I was there was probably the worst moment of my whole career Not probably Sure Williams said To be back out there which I never thought I would be was really different and special I was overwhelmed with emotions and nervesWilliams lowkey persona was in direct contrast to her usual fistpumping and screams of Come on She hit just 22 winners Azarenka and Williams met for the 21st time in their careers with Williams now owning a 174 edge The only player she has faced more in her career is her older sister who watched grimfaced from a box after losing early in her return to Indian Wells for the first time since 2001It was so great for our sport to see them both here Azarenka said Williams was warmly welcomed back last year only to withdraw with a knee injury before her semifinal She got emotional while accepting the runnerup trophy tears welling in her eyes after tournament officials thanked her and Venus for ending their boycottsThank you so much for the cheers Williams said I cant tell you how much it means to me Williams playfully stuck out her tongue as she walked past Azarenka posing with the winners crystal trophy on her way off the court