“It’s a dream come true” Taylor Fritz becomes the first American in 10 years to reach the Indian Wells finals after a dominant win over Andrey Rublev


“It’s a dream come true” Taylor Fritz becomes the first American in 10 years to reach the Indian Wells finals after a dominant win over Andrey Rublev

Taylor Fritz

20th seeded Taylor Fritz came out all guns blazing to take down Andrey Rublev in the semi-finals of the 2022 Indian Wells Masters to reach his first-ever finals of an ATP-1000 tournament. Fritz won the match 7-5, 6-4 to snap Rublev’s streak of 13 consecutive wins as the American picked up just his second straight-set win of the tournament.

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Fritz became the first American since John Isner in 2012 to reach the finals in Indian Wells and will surely bring a massive crowd for Sunday’s finals where he will look for his second career title and also the biggest of his career so far. Already being the local lad as he hails from California where the tournament is taking place, a chance to see the local boy lift one of the biggest tennis titles will surely have the Indian Wells Tennis Garden buzzing with excitement.

“It’s just unreal, really. It doesn’t even seem real. I’m just trying to take in the moment, regroup and come back tomorrow for the final. But it’s a dream come true. Today I definitely played my best match of the tournament so far. I was so much more aggressive from the ground and so much more solid [with] my groundstrokes, whereas [in] other matches I was maybe playing a bit safer.

“I really tried to take it to him and impose my game today. I did it well, so that helped a lot. It’s amazing. Just the support I got today, the crowd was so amazing and they really pushed me on. I wouldn’t be able to do it if I didn’t have all the support here, so thank you,” said Fritz after his win over Rublev.

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“His competitiveness is incredible” Taylor Fritz on Rafael Nadal, his opponent in the finals

Taylor Fritz
Taylor Fritz

Fritz will however now face the toughest test as he will take on 3-time former champion Rafael Nadal who moves into the finals with a 3-set win over Carlos Alcaraz. Nadal is now 20-0 for the season going for his 4th title and despite being almost out of the match, the Spaniard has rallied back to claim the win. It will be the second meeting between Fritz and Rafa with the pair having met earlier in the finals of the 2020 Acapulco Open where Nadal won the match and the title.

“I felt helpless because just by sending me high balls he was forcing me to make mistakes. The worst thing is that I had the feeling that if I improved a lot, he would automatically increase his level and continue to impose his authority. Now that I’ve learned, I know that I shouldn’t be looking to hit winners like crazy against a player like him. His competitiveness is incredible, it’s like nobody wants to win as much as him. I know he will fight on every ball,” said Fritz during his press conference.

Also Read: Indian Wells Masters 2022 Final: Rafael Nadal vs Taylor Fritz, Prediction, Head-to-Head, Preview, and Live Stream Details for BNP Paribas Open