March 19, 2018 -- Indian Wells, CA

In front of a sold out crowd, Roger and his 2018 perfect record took the court against Juan Martin del Potro Sunday afternoon for the BNP Paribas Open Finals.

Having fought through three sets in the semifinals against Borna Coric, Roger seemed a bit slow to get in the groove and was broken to lose the first set. While del Potro blasted forehands and serves, Roger held tight in the second set forcing a tiebreak. With a rowdy crowd and both players blowing opportunities, it was tense as the two scrapped for every point. After not converting two of his set points, Roger was able to take the breaker and force a third set.

The atmosphere continued to feel tense as the two exchanged blows from baseline as the final set was also pushed to a tiebreaker. Delpo remained strong and dominated the breaker to win his first ATP Masters 1000 title, 6-4, 6-7(10), 7-6(2).. 

While he will remain Number 1 in the world, this was Roger's first loss of the year. Next up for the Swiss Star will be Miami.