“Rafael Nadal does some crazy things that only he can do” Taylor Fritz reveals how does the Spaniard ‘DEMORALIZE’ his opponents
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Rafael Nadal and Taylor Fritz
American youngster Taylor Fritz ticked an item off his bucket list when he defeated Rafael Nadal in the finals of the 2022 Indian Wells Masters ending the 21-time Grand Slam champion’s 20-match unbeaten streak. Fritz won the match in straight-sets to pick up his second career title and his first-ever Masters-1000 title.
Fritz became the first American since Andre Agassi in 2001 to win the Indian Wells title and also the first American man since 2018 to win a Masters-1000 title with John Isner‘s win in the 2018 Miami Masters being the last instance. Fritz also improves his record against Top-20 players to 6-0 at Indian Wells with 5 of those wins coming against Top-10 players.
While Nadal was not fully fit as he faced breathing difficulties, one can not take anything away from Fritz who was advised by his coaches to hand a walkover as he had injured his ankle earlier in the day during the practice. However, with absolute grit and determination, he managed to stop Nadal in the finals to pick the trophy and later discussed how he planned his game against the Spaniard.
“A lot of the times that Rafa got those breakpoint opportunities on me it was for him doing some crazy things that Rafa does. He wins these crazy points where he whips a crazy forehand and a line winner and stuff like that. It is really demoralizing when someone does that to you, you feel like you didn’t really do anything wrong.
“I kind of told myself to roll with the punches and if I can dig out these games it’s gonna make such a big difference because he used to kind of pull those games out and win those games. So I tried to stay in the moment and just keep fighting off the great points,” said Fritz speaking on Tennis Channel where he was also joined by his coach Paul Annacone who was celebrating his birthday and received the best of gifts from Taylor.
Taylor Fritz breaks into the Top-15, becomes the highest ranked American on the Tour
Having started the tournament as the World No. 20, the victory sees Taylor gain 7 places as he makes his Top-15 debut ranked 13th in the rankings. He is now the highest-ranked American on the ATP Tour with Reilly Opelka on the 18th spot as the two are the only American men in the Top-20.
With Danielle Collins on the 11th place in the WTA rankings, she makes Taylor the second-highest ranked American Pro. Fritz now has a chance to capture the Sunshine Double as he now proceeds for the 2022 Miami Masters where he will now have big expectations and also massive support from the crowd.
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Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)