Novak Djokovic vs Roger Federer: Who is Indian Wells’ greatest champion?
Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are conclusively the two most successful players in Indian Wells history – but who should go down as the tournament’s greatest champion?
We analyse key statistics between the two to determine who should hold tournament bragging rights.
Most titles – shared
One record that Djokovic and Federer share is the most titles won, with both men triumphing five times.
Federer won his first title in 2004 and would then successfully defend his title in 2005 and 2006, before a fourth triumph in 2012 and a final triumph in 2017.
Djokovic, meanwhile, claimed his first Indian Wells title in 2008 and triumphed for a second time in 2011, before three straight victories in 2014, 2015, and 2016.
Rafael Nadal, Michael Chang, and Jimmy Connors are next on the all-time standings with three titles each.
Most consecutive titles – shared
The two tennis icons are also level in terms of the most consecutive titles won in Tennis Paradise.
Federer completed his Indian Wells three-peat from 2004-06, with Djokovic proceeding to match that feat from 2014-16.
They are currently the only two men to win three straight titles in the desert, though Carlos Alcaraz could match them in 2025.
In total, only eight men have ever successfully defended the Indian Wells title.
Most finals – Federer
The two former world No 1’s may be level in overall titles and most consecutive titles, though Federer has a clear advantage when it comes to reaching the most finals.
Alongside his five titles, Federer was a four-time runner-up in the desert, reaching a tournament-record nine finals in total.
The Swiss claimed back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2014 and 2015, and then again in 2017 and 2018.
Djokovic reached six finals in total, with his five triumphs all coming after he reached his first Indian Wells final back in 2007.
Most match wins – Federer
Federer holds the record for the most Indian Wells appearances (18) and, unsurprisingly, therefore has the record for the most match wins at the event.
The Swiss picked up a staggering 66 wins at the event and is the only man to cross the 60-win threshold, with Rafael Nadal next best on 59.
Djokovic is surprisingly quite far behind Federer in this stat, with the Serbian ranked third overall with 51 such wins to his name.
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Win percentage – Federer
Before 2025, Djokovic held a small lead over Federer when it came to win percentage in Indian Wells – though that has changed following his loss to Botic van de Zandschulp in 2025.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion holds a 51-11 record, leading to a win percentage of 82.3% at the tournament.
That is still impressive, but that now falls just short of Federer – whose 66-13 record at the event leaves him with a win rate of 83.5% in Tennis Paradise.
Alcaraz currently has the highest win percentage in the men’s singles event, having won 90.9% of his matches.
Head-to-head – Djokovic
Djokovic and Federer met 50 times across their legendary careers, with the Serbian holding a narrow 27-23 lead in their rivalry.
However, he held a spotless record against the Swiss in California – winning all three of their Indian Wells encounters.
Djokovic and Federer’s first Indian Wells meeting came in the 2011 semi-finals, with the Serbian battling his way to a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 victory.
The pair then met in the 2014 and 2015 finals, with the Serbian prevailing 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(3) and 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-2 respectively.
Conclusion
There is not too much to separate the two, in all honesty.
Federer has the advantage of having the record for most appearances and most match wins, while reaching a total of nine finals is hugely impressive.
However, Djokovic’s 3-0 record over his rival at the event is hard to ignore, and the fact that he matches the Swiss’ number of titles despite fewer appearances at the event is significant.
We’re giving a slight edge to Djokovic here, though there is no doubt the two are bona fide tournament icons.
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