Novak Djokovic went into Sunday's finals at the BNP Paribas Open doing something he hadn't done in eight years:
Still seek his first title of the season.
But Djokovic's 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3) victory Sunday over Roger Federer put his "slump" to rest and gave him some reassurance going into the spring season as he tries to catch Rafael Nadal for the No. 1 ranking.
"I'm just very happy and thrilled to be able to win the first title in this season," Djokovic said, according to Tennis.SI.com. "It was the first final that I played this year. It was necessary for my confidence, and hopefully I can carry that into Miami and the rest of the season."
Tennis' "Joker" had won Indian Wells in 2011. But the world's No. 2 player lost to Federer in the semifinals of the Dubai Duty Free Championship last month, and questions began to arise with the pairing of Djokovic and coach Boris Becker, who came about to help Djokovic master the mental aspects of his game.
It appeared Sunday that more questions were going to result from the Indian Wells final when Federer climbed back from a 5-3 deficit in the third set to force a tiebreaker.
But Djokovic regrouped to win the tiebreaker and finish his slump.
According to USA TODAY Sports, Djokovic recognized that he needed to regroup after losing 10-8 in the fifth set of the Australian Open semifinals to eventual champion Stanislas Wawrinka.
He credited a trip to Mount Kopaonik, where he hit tennis balls for the first time. He went with his fiancée Jelena Ristic, parents and a few friends for a ski trip that helped him regroup so that he could regroup on Sunday.
"I feel like going back there gives me that sense of identity in a way," he told USA TODAY Sports in an interview last week. "This is a very special place in different ways for our family.
"I'm not trying to build myself an artificial confidence, because I do have it," he said. "I did have a fantastic last three months of 2013. I have a good team around me. Boris Becker joined the crew. I'm confident that it's going to be a good season."
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