INDIAN WELLS (California), March 20: James Blake gave Roger Federer a taste of his own medicine. Unfortunately for him, he couldn’t get the dosage just right. Blake, whose impressive run to his first ATP Masters Series final will see him crack the world top 10 for the first time, broke Federer twice in the opening set for a 4-1 lead, but still couldn’t prevent the Swiss world number one from completing a 7-5, 6-3, 6-0 victory Sunday.

“He played aggressive, took the ball early, put away his forehands when he could, didn’t miss on the backhand, made me run around,” Federer said. “He gave me a little bit of my own medicine.”

Federer, however, rose to the occasion in a way that Blake said no one else can.

“He got on a little bit of a roll,” Blake said. “I’ve played guys where you get up a little bit and then you feel like you can’t miss.

“A couple of shots he was swinging at, you could tell, just he had that confidence where he feels like he’s not going to miss.

“I couldn’t wait any longer.”

Despite the sting of the defeat, Blake was happy with his tournament. He upset second-seeded Spaniard Rafael Nadal - the only man to beat Federer this year - to reach the final.

“I played great tennis throughout the week, got here. Roger played greater tennis.”

But the 26-year-old American who won titles this year at Sydney and Las Vegas said he would try not to dwell either on the positives or negatives of the tournament.—Agencies