Roger Federer staged a gritty comeback to defeat unseeded young gun Borna Coric on Saturday and advance to the Indian Wells final.
Federer dropped the first set and trailed by a break in both the second and third sets before winning 5-7 6-4 6-4.
The victory improves Federer’s win-loss record in 2018 to 17-0 – his best ever start to a season.
The defending champion will meet Juan Martin del Potro in the final, after the Argentine brushed aside an out-of-sorts Milos Raonic 6-2 6-3 in the second semifinal.
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It will be Federer's 17-match winning streak against Del Potro's 10-match winning streak in the Indian Wells final on Sunday. Hard to believe it won't be a good match. They've played so many of those against each other
— Christopher Clarey (@christophclarey) March 17, 2018
Down 7-5 4-2, Federer flipped a switched and rattled off four straight games to send the match into a decider.
And trailing again when Coric broke for a 4-3 lead in the third, it was a similar story.
The 21-year-old twice held a game point to extend his lead to 5-3, but Federer, willed on by the capacity Stadium 1 crowd, played intelligently against an increasingly tight Coric, knifing slice backhands and playing with depth and margin to eventually draw errors.
Federer won the last 11 points of the match.
WHAT. A. COMEBACK! ????@rogerfederer is through to the #BNPPO18 final with a 5-7 6-4 6-4 win against Coric pic.twitter.com/feVkkhrgDb
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 17, 2018
“I feel for him, but for me, the dream run continues in this year. Still a clean sheet and another chance to win a Masters 1000 here in Indian Wells. Can’t be better than this right now,” Federer said.
“I can’t believe it that things are going as well as they’re doing. I’m enjoying myself. Crowds are amazing every time I show up on court – I really appreciate that and I don’t take that for granted at all.
“I’m just happy I’m injury free, that I’m playing as well as I am and today winning the match through fight and grit, it’s a great feeling.”
The second semifinal was as brisk and one-sided as the first was lengthy and competitive.
Del Potro notched his 400th career victory in a 65-minute rout of Raonic, who finished the match 8/23 at net and without a single break point to his name.
Del Potro, meanwhile broke Raonic’s usually-fearsome serve four times and at one stage of the second set won 10 straight points, helping him build a 6-2 3-1 lead.
The sixth seed played with a controlled aggression in the windy conditions, finishing the match with 15 winners and just eight unforced errors. Raonic sprayed 19 errors of his own.
The Indian Wells decider will mark del Potro’s fourth appearance in an ATP Masters final, although he is yet to win one.
?? There's no stopping @delpotrojuan!
10 wins in a row after downing Raonic 6-2 6-3#BNPPO18 pic.twitter.com/w43qEOwWNb
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 17, 2018
“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.”
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