Taylor Fritz stops Rafael Nadal’s winning streak, wins Indian Wells title

Hours from playing in the biggest final of
his young career, Taylor Fritz was in severe pain. The prospect of having to
withdraw against Rafael Nadal nearly had him in tears.

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His coach urged him not to potentially risk
damaging his sore ankle further. Fritz stubbornly refused to bow out.

His faith in himself paid off. Fritz upset
Nadel 6-3, 7-6 (5) Sunday to win the BNP Paribas Open and snap the 21-time
major champion’s 20-match winning streak this year.

“It was a complete non-issue, didn’t
feel it at all, didn’t hinder me at all,” said Fritz, who tweaked his
ankle late in his semifinal win over No. 7 seed Andrey Rublev. Blue medical
tape could be seen above his high sock and he had it numbed before the final.

Nadal had his own health issue.

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He came into the match bothered by painful
breathing that he first experienced in a three-set semifinal win. He took two
medical timeouts during the final. The first one came after he lost the first
set. Nadal went inside with a trainer after tapping his upper left chest. He
got treatment on court after falling behind 5-4 in the second set.

“When I try to breathe, it’s painful
and it’s very uncomfortable. It’s like a needle all the time inside. I get
dizzy a little bit because it’s painful. It’s a kind of pain that limit me a
lot,” said Nadal, who turns 36 in June.

“The thing that worries me now, it’s
about what’s going on there, what I have to do now to recover and how long
going to take.”

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Nadal’s 20-0 start to the year included the
Australian Open, his 21st major championship that broke a tie with Novak
Djokovic and Roger Federer. He also won titles in Melbourne and Acapulco.

“Of course, the last two months have
have been amazing, unforgettable, very emotional,” Nadal said. “I
enjoy things that I never thought I could live again a few months ago.”

In an error-filled women’s final, Iga
Swiatek defeated Maria Sakkari 6-4, 6-1. The 20-year-old Polish player and
Fritz earned $1.2 million each for their victories.

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Fritz didn’t waste any time in attacking
Nadal, racing to a 5-1 lead in the first set with two breaks. Nadal got a break
back in closing to 5-3, but his backhand error gave Fritz another break and the
set.

“It’s an honor to even be on the same
court as this guy,” Fritz told the crowd. “I grew up watching this
guy win everything.”

Nadal fought off a match point on his serve
with a forehand winner to tie the second set 5-all. He had two break points on
Fritz’s serve in the next game, but the American held for a 6-5 lead. Nadal
held to force the tiebreaker.

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Nadal sent two straight forehands well wide
to set up Fritz’s second match point. Another Nadal error sent Fritz to the
biggest victory of his career not far from where he grew up near San Diego.
Fritz’s parents, Guy Fritz and Kathy May, are former tour players.

“He told me that I was going to win
this tournament one day when I was a little kid,” Fritz said. “It was
pretty tough not being emotional with my parents, especially my dad. He was
just really, really proud of me. It’s really tough to get a compliment out of
him.”