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Taylor Fritz ends Rafael Nadal’s winning streak to lift Indian Wells title

March 21, 2022
Bharat Times English News

An injured Taylor Fritz ended Rafael Nadal’s 20-match winning run with a 6-3 7-6 (5) victory in the Indian Wells final on Sunday, becoming the first American to win the title since Andre Agassi two decades ago . ,

Home favorite Fritz gave fans what they had come to see – a heroic effort and an American winner, denying Nadal what would be his fourth title of the season and a record-equalling 37 ATP Masters 1000 championships.

Taking care of an injured ankle, Fritz said that after securing his second career title he doubted he could even take to the court and had never experienced such pain before the match.

But the 24-year-old American decided to put an end to it and was rewarded with the biggest win of his career while fighting the 21-time Grand Slam winner.

“It’s one of those childhood dreams that you think will never come true,” Fritz said.

“I can’t even describe how ridiculous it is how I could play today.

“I have never experienced worse pain in my life than before a match.

“If I had known it was going to be so bad, I wouldn’t have come out of here. I took a few steps to change direction and screamed and to be honest, I was trying to act desperately because I had cameras.

“We put in a lot of work leading up to the match and I went through a rollercoaster of emotions before the match, thinking there’s no way I could possibly play today.”

There were concerns about fitness for both the players to make it to the finals.

While Fritz was battling an ankle problem, Nadal was battling a chest problem he picked up during a three-set semi-final clash with 18-year-old compatriot Carlos Alcarz.

The 35-year-old Spaniard was clearly out to start the match, with Fritz breaking him twice on his way to a 4-0 lead.

But as he has done many times before, Nadal refused to wave the white flag, caught serve twice and sent a buzz through the packed stadium, breaking the American 5-3.

Fritz would regroup and stop Nadal’s rally with a third break to take a set lead.

At the end of the opening set, Nadal called for a medical timeout and returned to the court with a new purpose.

One of the game’s greats, Nadal forced a tie-break in the second set, but the big-serving American proved too strong in the end.