Halep 4-3: Don't adjust - or should that be refresh? - your computer/tablet/phone screens, it's a hold of serve. Both players wail away from the baseline, pushing themselves to the limit, but it's Halep that edges it, breaking the run of breaks when Jankovic frames a backhand into the tramlines.

3-3: And it is another break. The Romanian starts with an emphatic forehand winner and helped by a seventh double fault registers a fourth consecutive break.

Jankovic 3-2: Halep won't be feeling too good about herself after that game, undoing the good work of the previous few minutes with a string of unforced errors, the last a backhand into the net, handing over another break. What next? Probably a break of serve.

2-2: It's Halep that's playing the more assertive tennis, and she moves to 30-30 with a crisp cross-court backhand winner. A trademark running forehand pass gives her the chance to break and Jankovic cracks in a punishing rally to surrender her slight advantage.

Jankovic 2-1: This match has had more twists than an early M. Night Shyamalan movie. Now it's Halep's turn to falter, slipping 30-40 behind and then seeing JJ take the break courtesy of a net cord.

1-1: It's a good response from Jankovic, a tremendous backhand winner the highlight of a hold to love. 

Halep 1-0: The World No.3 keeps her foot on the accelerator, whipping a forehand winner down the line to hold.

Halep 7-5: Jankovic is struggling to remove herself from this passive frame of mind and Halep is taking full advantage. At 15-30, Halep unleashes a beautiful down-the-line backhand to arrive at set point(s). The first is wiped out with a smash, but there is no escape for Jankovic, whose slice backhand clips the tape to surrender the set. Halep is in the zone and responds with a double fist pump.

Halep 6-5: Twenty minutes ago, Halep looked down and out. Now she's riding the crest of a wave, holding to 15 to move ahead for the first time since the third game of the match. How will JJ respond?

5-5: It's not a promising start as a backhand lands halfway up the net. Halep repays the favor, ballooning a forehand long, 15-15. If Halep is to go down, she'll do it with guns blazing, pulling the Serb to all corners of the court before smashing away the shortest of sort balls, 15-30. A second serve catches the very extremity of the center line and it's 30-30. Halep responds to this setback with her best tennis of the match, firing a winner before breaching Jankovic's defenses once more on an epic break point.  

Jankovic 5-4: An incredible inside out forehand from Halep is sandwiched by yet more errors and the result is yet more break points. Halep saves the first with some brave hitting, but she's not out danger yet. Jankovic registers a fourth consecutive break with a remarkably nerveless smash. One more game and it's time for Mr Brooks again...

4-4: Jankovic gets a ticking off for talking to her team, but it doesn't seem to affect her as a pin-point serve and then an even more precise backhand take her to 30-0. At this stage of a match, nothing's straightforward and three double faults in the next four points leave the door ajar. Halep, perhaps sensing her opponent's nerves, keeps it simple and Jankovic obliges by, erm, yanking a forehand into the tramlines. It's not pretty at the moment and after a series of basic errors from both players, the Romanian tees up a backhand which she fizzes away for the break. How pivotal could that game be? 

Jankovic 4-3: But she's not on level terms for long, Halep surrendering the momentum as an impatient backhand flying wide at 15-30. She's even more errant on the next point as a wild forehand sails long and Jankovic can hardly believe her luck. She's two games from the title.

3-3: Well, well, well. Who saw that coming? An error-strewn game from Jankovic gift wraps the break back. Game on!

Jankovic 3-2: Halep is a fighter and she proves it in the next game, soaking up everything the former World No.1 can throw at her to tease a couple of rare unforced errors. A hitch-kick backhand proves too much for Jankovic and breathes some life back in her challenge.

Jankovic 3-1: It's déjà vu for the No.3 seed, whose errant backhand lets her down again. With a half chance at 30-30, she fails to clear the net. Jankovic punishes her mercilessly by firing another unanswered serve down the middle.

Jankovic 2-1: Can the underdog smell victory? Halep shows no sign of awakening from her slumber, handing over her serve once more when a backhand down the line lands in the net on break point.

1-1: Jankovic continues to attack, rushing in to swat away another drive volley. She holds to love when Halep finds the tape with another errant backhand.

Halep 1-0: Halep's compatriot Ion Tiriaccracks a rare smile as Halep finally ends Jankovic's run of games. Comeback?

Halep is getting her ankle taped in the changeover. Can she turn it around? It's more than a year since Jankovic lost a match after winning the opening set. 

Jankovic 6-2: Jankovic is playing Halep at her own game and winning. After frustrating the Romanian in the previous few games, she wraps up the set in style with a series of emphatic deliveries.

Jankovic 5-2: Once again Halep fails to capitalize on her chances, seeing three game points come and go. Jankovic only needs the one, getting the insurance break when Halep gets her feet in a muddle and tugs a forehand wide. 

Jankovic 4-2: A frank exchange of words with stand-in coach Chip Brooks at the changeover doesn't appear to have done Jankovic much good as she gets caught in no man's land and can only waft a forehand into the tram lines at 15-30. Once again, though, the Serb come roaring back, ripping a backhand winner before a couple of well-placed serves help her to hold.

Jankovic 3-2: Halep swats away a short ball to move 30-0 ahead. And she appears to be easing back ahead when a service winner gives her three game points, but the Serb has other ideas, a couple of tremendous backhands pegging her back to deuce. The World No.3 tightens up on the next, finding the tape with a snatched forehand. She saves this, but Jankovic is not to be denied, wrong-footing Halep with a drive volley who then coughs up another uncharacteristic error.

2-2: Jankovic's no slouch around the court either, tracking down a drop shot to send a backhand whizzing past Halep. A few moments - and Halep errors - later and she holds to love. As you were.

Halep 2-1: Is there a better mover on tour than Halep? A remarkable running forehand takes the Romanian to 30-0, before holding with a brisk service winner down the T.

1-1: Jankovic has a chance to consolidate the break only to double fault. Halep then uncorks a Djakovic-esque - or should that be Halep-esque? - cross-court backhand pass at full stretch to get a break point of her own. Jankovic punishes a short return to snuff out this danger but fires long on the next point to offer up another chance. The backhand wing lets her down again and after 15 minutes, it's 1-1.

Jankovic 1-0: Despite their respective rankings, Jankovic holds the edge in experience of this sort of occasion and makes the more composed start, capitalizing on a double fault and a mistimed backhand to carve out a couple of early break points. Halep fends these off, but cannot escape the game, going a fraction long with a forehand to hand Jankovic a drawn out opening game.

----

 Right, the warm-up's over and we're almost ready to get this party started...

----

The two players' form could not have been more contrasting going into the tournament. Halep bounced back from a disappointing exit to Ekaterina Makarova at the Australian Open by picking up the Dubai title and is now on a 12-match winning streak thanks to her run to the final.

However, as Flavia Pennetta proved 12 months ago, good form is not a prerequisite for success at Indian Wells. Jankovic touched down in SoCal with more defeat to her name than wins (2-4) in 2015, but has proceeded to play her best tennis to get within touching distance of recapturing the title she won in 2010.

Andrew Krasny introduces the players to the crowd - Jankovic first, swiftly followed by No.3 seed Halep. The Serb wins the coin toss (tails never fails!) and elects to receive. Time for the warm up.

----

Good afternoon from beautiful Indian Wells and welcome to game-by-game coverage of the BNP Paribas Open final between Simona Halep and Jelena Jankovic.

Past encounters between the two have been dominated by Halep, who leads the head-to-head record 3-1. The most recent of these came in the fourth round of last year's Australian Open where the Romanian overcame a mid-match blip before winning in three.

Can she pick up a fourth straight win and in the process the biggest title of her career? All will be revealed over the next few hours.

While we wait for the action to get underway, it's time for a shameless plug to our ever-informative match notes.