Indian Wells Final – Taylor Fritz uses Rafael Nadal to win his first Masters 1000 runs.

The king fell. Rafael Nadal, who has been undefeated since the start of this season, won his first 20 matches in 2022. He stumbled on the 21st step on Sunday in the final of the Indian Wells tournament. The Spanish player, suffering from physical problems, gave up two sets and two hours (6-3, 7-6) against Taylor Fritz. The young American won the first major title of his career, having won only one ATP250 competition so far. Here he is with the Masters 1000 under his arm which is called Changing Dimensions.

It was a fun day in the California desert. At first we were afraid that this final would not take place. In the morning, Taylor Fritz had to reduce her warm-up due to severe ankle pain. We feared it would not come to an end because of Rafael Nadal’s back problems. The man, who has been handled several times by a physiotherapist and won 21 Grand Slam titles, looked a little more aged during this meeting. This was especially felt in the service and from the beginning it was: Nadal served four times in the first set. He gave up three breaks.

With a 4-0 lead, Mallorgan overcame one of his two late breaks and lost again 5-3. On the other side of the web, it is impossible for anyone who ignored him to imagine that Taylor Fritz screamed in pain in court four hours ago. Aggressive, without being intimidated by the purpose of the event, was very new to him, or without showing anything, he was the boss of the final match, which was somewhat conflicting with the unexpected situation.

Her body was reminiscent of Natalie’s age

But Rafael Nadal has emerged from many complicated or compromised situations over the past three months, especially in Indian Wells, where he has always evolved into a book, and Fritz still seemed far removed from the title. Even if it comes to a point. At 5-4, Nadal Service scored a match point for the podium locals (even though most civilians were pushed behind Natal), which was perfectly destroyed by the Spanish left-hander. Fritz did not know it yet, but he had to wait more than 20 minutes to find himself in this position again.

At the end of the attempt, Nadal pushed his challenge into the decisive game. He trailed 3-1 at first, leading the score to 5-4 with two serves. The third set was very close. But Rafa is not going to make a comment anymore. A topspin volley from the redesigned forehand, then Fritz’s impeccable long-row forehand Natale against the wall. This time, Match Point was in American service, and it was great. Although failure and logic have not been exactly right for Natalie lately, this is a logical conclusion considering the end and its context.

If this first quarter ends badly for him, he will be out of the former (and perhaps future) world number one business. Rafael Nadal would have been a better man earlier this year and with the clay field under construction (he announced earlier this month that he was not going to move to Miami), it may not be over. He had to be careful as his body came to remind him of his age on Sunday. Taylor Fritz, for his part, has been reaping the benefits of prudent but real progress for months. Despite the injury, the beast Natal is so tough that it would be inappropriate to downplay the performance of the new head of American tennis.