Djokovic sinks Fish to seal Indian Wells title

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

INDIAN WELLS, California (Reuters) - World number three Novak Djokovic held off a fightback by American Mardy Fish to win the Pacific Life Open final 6-2 5-7 6-3 on Sunday and secure his second prestigious ATP title of the year.

Two months after claiming his first grand slam crown at the Australian Open, the Serb broke world number 98 Fish once in the final set before sealing victory in just over two hours.

"It's been a dream start to the year," third-seeded Djokovic, runner-up in the Masters Series event at Indian Wells 12 months ago, told reporters.

"Before I started this year, I said my goals were to be consistent with results, reach the Masters and hopefully win a grand slam. I did that in a very, very small amount of time.

"I also want to congratulate Mardy on a fantastic week. He's a much better player than that (98th) and deserves to be ranked much higher."

Fish, ranked a career-high 17th four years ago, capped a remarkable run that featured three victories over top-10 players by stunning Swiss world number one Roger Federer in Saturday's semi-finals.

"This has been a tremendous week for me, definitely one I will never forget," said the American, who won the last of his two ATP titles in Houston in 2006. "Yesterday was one of the best days of my life and this is my favorite tournament."

Djokovic, 20, made a fast start in the final, winning the first six points of the match and breaking Fish in the second game when the American crowd favorite hit a forehand long.