Dominic Thiem described beating Roger Federer to claim the biggest title of his career at the Indian Wells Masters as being "as nice as a grand slam".
Thiem fought back from a set down to defeat the 20-time major champion 3-6 6-3 7-5 in California on Sunday.
The Austrian, up to fourth in the rankings after securing his maiden Masters title, was pinching himself after toppling Federer for a third time in five encounters with the Swiss legend.
"It's unreal," said Thiem. "It's a pleasure to compete against Roger in this great final. I lost my last two Masters 1000 finals, but I won this one and it feels as nice as a grand slam.
"It was a great week and I think also a very good final. Just amazing that I got here, [it is] my first really big title.
"I came from a really bad form in all categories and now I'm the champion of Indian Wells. It feels not real at all."
@ThiemDomi #BNPPO19 pic.twitter.com/q8vDvA6MPH
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 18, 2019
Thiem was particularly pleased with the way he hung in there under pressure to get the better of Federer.
The 2018 French Open runner-up added: "I was in the zone the whole match. I had to get used to Roger's game. In the first set he was playing amazing.
"It was completely different from my opponents before him. I was struggling to work my way into the match. I had to fight to save those break points early in the second set.
"It was a very good match until the end and I had to fight to serve it out."
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