20 years on: How dominant Federer surged to his first Indian Wells title

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In hindsight, Roger Federer’s impressive tally of five BNP Paribas Open titles seems apt for one of the greatest players the ATP Tour has ever seen.

Yet there was nothing assured about Federer’s ability to conquer the desert conditions of Indian Wells entering the 2004 edition of the ATP Masters 1000 event. The then-22-year-old, already a Wimbledon, Australian Open and Nitto ATP Finals winner, held a modest 3-3 record in Tennis Paradise as he lined up to face Andrei Pavel in the first round.

For the first time, however, Federer was stepping on court at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden as the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, having reached that mark a month prior after winning his second major title in Melbourne. Across six matches that week in southern California, Federer put on a display worthy of his recently acquired status, dropping just one set as he marched to his second Masters 1000 crown, his first on hard courts, and the first of three consecutive title wins in Indian Wells.

“I don't feel any extra pressure because everybody will try to beat me, I will try to beat everybody,” reflected Federer after he defeated Tim Henman in the championship match. “I don't see it like if I don't win, if I would lose here in the finals or if I would lose here in the second round, then everything has broken down, what I have achieved. I don't feel pressure. I'm really just enjoying the moment right now."

_{^{Roger Federer after winning the first of his five BNP Paribas Open titles in 2004. Photo Credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images}}

Federer’s relaxed demeanour after beating Henman was perhaps an indication of the level of his supremacy across the previous seven days. He raced to the semi-finals for the loss of just 15 games, dispatching Pavel, Fernando Gonzalez, Mardy Fish and Juan Ignacio Chela in style. His biggest test came in the last four against Andre Agassi, the 2001 Indian Wells champion who was also yet to drop a set that week.

With the help of 12 aces and after saving five of the six break points he faced, Federer overhauled Agassi for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win under the California sun. The way the Swiss raised his level from the previous rounds to meet the challenge of Agassi was noticeable. Having lost his first three matches against the American great, Federer’s Indian Wells win levelled the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series at 3-3.

“I definitely had to show my best of this week, because the other matches, I played well... This was the first real challenge I had,” said Federer after beating Agassi. “This is why I think I had to play my best... In general I had to really, really push myself. This is when you also tend to overhit because you know how strong your opponent is. I mean, we saw how much separates us two. I was fortunate today.”

_{^{Roger Federer and Andre Agassi embrace after their 2004 semi-final in Indian Wells. Photo Credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images}}

Federer entered the title match with a 1-6 record against the No. 10-ranked Henman. Renowned as one of the great volleyers on Tour, the Briton's desire to move forward represented a different sort of test to the baseline skill of Agassi. It was still not enough to stop Federer, however, who did not face a break point in a commanding 6-3, 6-3 triumph.

“I thought I've showed a few times that I played well against top players, but against Tim it's just a different game overall just because he keeps coming at you,” said Federer afterwards. “You cannot actually find that rhythm from the baseline when you're looking for it. You feel like you're going to hit the normal backhand, then suddenly he's standing at the net hitting a volley."

Federer’s triumph turned out to be the first of three back-to-back titles for the Swiss in Tennis Paradise. He dropped just two sets across 18 matches in Indian Wells from 2004-06, a run of dominance in the desert that perhaps only Novak Djokovic has since equalled with his consecutive wins from 2014-2016. Federer later added his fourth and fifth BNP Paribas Open titles in 2012 and 2017, respectively.

_{^{Roger Federer in action under the California sun during his 2004 Indian Wells title run. Photo Credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images}}

Another of Federer’s post-match quotes from that 2004 final now feels like a hint at what was to come. “I feel like now there's not many guys left who have really an edge on me,” said the Swiss, who four months earlier had beaten then-No. 1 Andy Roddick, No. 2 Juan Carlos Ferrero and No. 5 Agassi (twice) en route to the 2003 Nitto ATP Finals (then known as the Tennis Masters Cup) crown in Houston.

Perhaps even Federer would not have realised how accurate those words would come to be. His 2004 Indian Wells title was his just his second as World No. 1, a position he did not relinquish until August 2008 after a record 237 consecutive weeks as the world’s top player and the emergence from Spain of a new rival named Rafael Nadal.