Fritz ends Nadal’s winning streak with Indian Wells final win

Indian Wells, US, Mar 20 (EFE).- Taylor Fritz of the United States defeated Rafael Nadal in the Indian Wells final on Sunday, ending the Spaniard’s 20-match winning streak.

Fritz pulled off the surprise 6-3, 7-6 win against the world no. 4 in two hours and six minutes.

Nadal was aiming for a fourth Indian Wells title, having previously won it in 2007, 2009 and 2013, and also his fourth consecutive win in 2022 after winning the Melbourne Summer Set, the Australian Open and the Mexican Open.

After his epic win in the semifinal against Carlos Alcaraz in more than three hours, Nadal, who was already facing physical issues, had to request medical assistance on two occasions during his match with Fritz, who outclassed him to pick up the first ATP Masters 1000 title of his career.

“Congrats to Taylor and your team, you are doing great. I know it’s a big day for all of you so enjoy it,” Nadal said on court as soon as the final ended.

“I tried my best during the last two weeks. Today it wasn’t possible. I had a good fight to the end,” the Spaniard added.

The American dominated the first set and although the second set was much more even, he was able to finish off a match, in which the wind was a major factor in the tie break.

Nadal has 36 ATP Masters 1000 titles, one less than Novak Djokovic.

The Spaniard won’t be competing in any hard court tournaments to focus on his specialty, the clay court season. EFE

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