Roger Federer: 'Novak Djokovic deserved winner of Indian Wells Masters'

Roger Federer believes that Novak Djokovic deserved to win the BNP Paribas Open.

The 32-year-old Swiss lost the final 3-6 6-3 7-6(3) at Indian Wells on Sunday.

"It was an interesting end to the match, no doubt," ATP World Tour's official website quotes him as saying. "But I think he played well. At the end he made sure he kept the ball in play and I might have made a few too many errors when it really mattered.

"But I think he made a crucial sort of 20 minutes, half an hour midway through the second set and third set where things could have gone either way.

"But credit to him for toughening it out and winning that second set and getting the breaker in the third."

The title was Djokovic's 17th at an ATP event.