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Roger Federer closed out a straight-set victory in Sunday's title match, but needed to fight through three tie-breaks against Croat Ivan Ljubicic to defend his title at the NASDAQ-100 Open.

In the evenly-matched battle - the fourth career meeting in a final between the Swiss and Croat - Federer once again proved his tenacity, converting at the crucial moments to seal the 7-6(5), 7-6(4), 7-6(6) victory in two hours, 56 minutes. It was the first time in Federer's career he won three tie-breaks in a match and he improved to 12-1 in tie-breaks on the season.

Ljubicic had his chances to stay in the match. In the third set, he jumped out to a 2-0 advantage only to concede the lead at 3-2. He also earned set point in the tie-break, but Federer succeeded in reeling off the final three points for the championship.

With the win, the 24-year-old Swiss claimed his 10th career ATP Masters Series shield, joining Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras as the only players to win double digit ATP Masters Series titles (since 1990). He also picked up an ATP-leading fourth title of the season and his second consecutive title at the NASDAQ-100 Open, becoming the first player to win back-to-back Indian Wells and Miami titles in successive years.

Federer further extended his record ATP Masters Series match winning streak to 24 in a row with his fourth straight Masters Series tournament he has played in ('05 Hamburg, '05 Cincinnati, '06 Indian Wells, '06 Miami), and improved to a 10-2 career record in Masters Series finals, winning his last nine in a row.

His winning streak on U.S. soil now stands at 48 matches, with his last loss to Dominik Hrbaty in the first round of ATP Masters Series Cincinnati in August 2004. During that span, he has won eight consecutive U.S. titles.

The 27-year-old Ljubicic was denied an ATP Masters Series shield for the third time in the last four ATP Masters Series tournaments going back to last season. Ljubicic was runner-up at Madrid in October and the runner-up at Paris in November. Both of his previous runner-up efforts came in five sets.

Ljubicic, who fired 21 aces in the final and led the tournament with 82, is off to a career-best 25-4 start and will improve from No. 6 to No. 5 in the INDESIT ATP Rankings (equaling his career-high).

WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID

Roger Federer: "I guess the important moments, key moments of the match. I guess I was just superior to him. There was not much in it. He could have had a break early in the first set and that could have changed things. Then I could have had a break some other time, and it didn't work either. I thought it was a very evened-out match and it came down to the big points again. That's how it was."

"I believe serve is very important in the breaker. But even if that doesn't work, I never panic. I think that's the key in the end. You can't panic. You got to believe in your game, and that comes through confidence and knowing your game to a hundred percent. That's what I know about my game, what shot can I hit in what moment and what are the percentages. I think that's sort of what I calculate very good in that very moment, the split second I have.

"But, again, tiebreakers, anything can happen. So I'm always a little bit worried also going into breakers, obviously."

Ivan Ljubicic: "It's hard to just talk about one shot. I mean, it was great match. We played over three hours, three tiebreaks. If my backhand was off, it would be like 2, 2 and 2. I think it was just the bigger points he played better. He definitely played more relaxed and more confident than I did. On 6-5, set point in the third set, he comes up with a great, great serve. Then on matchpoint he hit the net. I mean, in those moments, it's something else that made the difference. But of course I think in the end when you draw the line, he probably played a little better than me."

"Well, the moment, like 10 seconds after the match, you mad because you think you were close. But then a week after, I'm gonna be proud the way I played and the fact that I was close. But, I mean, it's still a loss, of course. As I said, it's straight sets, so it definitely feels a little rough.

"But this is when you play a tiebreak against him, he never misses. He rarely gives you anything. Of course he comes up with the big shots when it's really important."