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Federer, Azarenka win Indian Wells titles

INDIAN WELLS, Calif — Roger Federer is on a roll again, and Victoria Azarenka can’t be stopped, either.

They each won titles in straight sets at the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday and earned matching $1 million paychecks, the richest in tournament history.

Federer defeated John Isner 7-6 (7), 6-3 for his record fourth title at Indian Wells, avenging a loss to the American who beat him in Davis Cup play.

Azarenka routed Maria Sharapova 6-2, 6-3 in the WTA Tour’s first final between the No. 1 and No. 2 players since 2008.

Federer improved to 39-2 since last year’s U.S. Open, with his only losses to No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals of the Australian Open and the 11th-ranked Isner, who won on the Swiss star’s home turf last month.

“This year I decided I wanted to play a bit more,” Federer said. “If things went great, I knew I could be on a great run coming into Indian Wells and Miami. That’s exactly what happened. I’m a bit surprised it’s all gone that well.”

Azarenka improved to 23-0 this year, the best start to a season since Martina Hingis went 37-0 to open 1997. The top-ranked Belarusian won her Tour-leading fourth title of the year.

Federer, ranked third, avenged his two defeats in consecutive days at Indian Wells.

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