The 24-year-old California native beat the Spaniard in straight sets and surprisingly stayed with Indian Wells, snapping a 21-game losing streak for American tennis and winning his first Masters 1000.
Saturday March 19, Rafael Nadal (4th) beat Carlos Alcaraz (19th) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. The flashes turned to the Spaniard, one of the best in history, after the exhausting duel against his compatriot. I was aiming for a new trophy, being the favourite, as always. Earlier in the day, American Taylor Fritz (20th) beat Russian Andrey Rublev (7th) in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4.
The wear on the North American was less. Still, stats said the Manacor native had never lost a final to an under 30. Despite the fact that the Fiera did not have a good time in its last two phases, bookmakers and pundits predicted its triumph.
Fritz, playing at home, was looking to get rid of the thorn at Indian Wells 2021 while he was in the semi-finals after falling to Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili. This year he got a little friendlier painting: he left Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak (75th) en route in the first round with a 6-1 double. Then he suffered a little more, but in three sets he erased the Spaniard Juame Munar (99th).
Difficulty which was repeated in the round of 16 and quarter-finals. He first eliminated Australian Álex de Miñaur (31st) 3-6, 6-4, 7-6, then Serbian Miomir Kecmanović (61st) 7-6, 6-3, 6-1. The semi-final was easier for him and the final is still going around the world.
“I thought I was invincible”
Taylor Fritz is only 24 years old. He was born on October 28, 1997 in San Diego, California, 198 km. Indian Wells, where the Masters 1000 BNP Paribas Open takes place. His mother is Kathy May, a former tennis player who reached number eight in the WTA rankings in the 1970s; his father, Guy Fritz, a tennis teacher. His passion could not be another.
He’s been in the sport for as long as he can remember. His first approaches took place before the age of three. He started appearing in 2015 in the United States, when he reached the final of Roland Garros Junior, where he lost against Tommy Paul. His revenge would come quickly, at the US Open Junior. Fritz, number one in the category, imposed his mandates by 6-2, 6-7 and 6-2.
To date, he has won four Challenger titles. His first ATP trophy was obtained in 2019 by beating his compatriot Sam Querrey in the final of the Eastbourne tournament, 6-3, 6-4.
This Sunday went down in history. Although Nadal suffered from pains which did not allow him to expose his best version, Fritz won well. “All my life I thought these players were invincible but I was able to do it. He must have his pains too and I wish him the best and I can’t believe I cut his winning streak .” declared after the duel.
Taylor Fritz became the first player born after 1990 to beat Raphael Nadal in a final . Like Rafa, the American played with the problems, as a sprained ankle almost erased him from the decisive duel. His coaches advised him not to show up, but he wanted to play. A few hours later, he beat the best Grand Slam winner.
An athlete who also makes Americans proud of tennis. With his feat, he left behind a 21-year losing streak for the United States in Indian Wells, as one of his representatives had failed to win the title since 2001, when Andre Agassi did.
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Source: Latercera
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
