Title at Indian Wells ends Nadal’s nine-month wait

The tricky left-hander who seemed to get into Roger Federer’s head last spring had many tennis observers scratching their heads when things turned the other way -- no titles in nine months for Rafael Nadal.

The Spaniard, ranked second in the world, apparently wasn’t one of those filled with much doubt. But he didn’t quite have a manana attitude, either. After Nadal ended the drought, defeating No. 12-seeded Novak Djokovic, 6-2, 7-5, in the Pacific Life Open final on Sunday in 1 hour 33 minutes, he seemed to feel something between those extremes.

“For me, it was not very hot,” said Nadal, who earned $500,000 for the title and the distinctive black whale trophy.

“When you are not winning, you’re thinking, ‘Yeah, I need to win one title.’ But always the press ask me, ‘What’s happening right now?’

“I wasn’t winning, that’s true. But I was always, at the quarterfinals, semifinals. I was always there. Sometimes, you’re a bit luckier, a little bit more confidence. But, well, I wasn’t half a disaster these eight months.”

The eight months is a reference to his last appearance in a final, at Wimbledon in July. His most recent title before Indian Wells came at the French Open in June. Nadal lost to Federer at Wimbledon, and went out in the quarterfinals of his next two Grand Slam tournaments, the U.S. Open last year and the Australian Open in January.

Nadal, 20, managed to take that issue off the table at Indian Wells with a combination of his usual hard work and vintage flair, not dropping a set in six matches. He also showed more variety on his serve and an increasing aggressiveness on the forehand side, particularly in the final two rounds.

His pressure was stifling against Andy Roddick in the semifinals and Djokovic in the final. An unsettled Djokovic, appearing in his first Masters Series final, struggled with nerves early, winning only one point in the first three games and falling behind 0-4 in the first 13 minutes.

Djokovic, who will move into the ATP’s top 10 today, was asked if he was shocked by how well Nadal played in the first set. Nadal lost only three points on his own serve in the first set, twice holding at love.

“No, I was more shocked with my game, with my unforced errors,” Djokovic said.

In the second set, the 19-year-old Serb made it competitive. He unveiled his own powerful forehand and dealt better with Nadal’s heavy spin. The key to the second set was the fourth game, when Nadal saved three break points. Those would be the only ones the Spaniard faced.

“It’s the first final of the bigger tournaments, playing a lot of matches with the good players,” Djokovic said. “I think I need more experience. It’s just more of these tournaments, more of these matches.”

As often happens, there were questions for Nadal about someone, for once, not around on a final Sunday -- Federer.

“Right now, I am No. 2 and Roger is No. 1 and far away from the others,” Nadal said. “That’s the thing, no? Right now, it’s not my competition because Roger is best in history.... But, no, right now, maybe go to No. 1 is very, very difficult, and I am not thinking about that, no? I think if I play like this, I can win another major.”

Still, details can be revealing. Federer and Miami are waiting for Nadal, and it was telling that Nadal said he planned to wait until after the Miami tournament to celebrate his Indian Wells championship.

This was the 18th title of his career, and it should be noted that Federer had won three at a similar age. Federer has three Pacific Open titles, and now Nadal has one to take home to Mallorca.

He knows exactly where it is going.

“The same place like others,” Nadal said. “I have a room ... shelves for the trophies. I have all the Masters Series there.

“I have eight months without any title, but I come back with big one.”

lisa.dillman@latimes.com