MELBOURNE, VIC - FEBRUARY 12: Taylor Fritz of the United States of America celebrates after winning a game during round 3 of the 2021 Australian Open on February 12 2020, at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. Photo by Jason Heidrich/Icon Sportswire TENNIS: FEB 12 Australian Open Icon2102121865
24-year-old Taylor Fritz defeated Rafael Nadal in straight sets 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) to win his first Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells. This would have been Nadal’s fourth title of the season and a record-equalling 37th ATP Masters 1000 Championship but Fritz had other ideas.
This win from Fritz also broke Nadal’s 20-match winning run in what is the Spaniard’s best start to a season. The American after winning only his second career title said that he had doubts regarding his participation in the final. He revealed that he was nursing an ankle injury.
It has to be said that Fritz deserves a lot of praise for fighting pain and beating one of the best players of the game in straight sets.
“This is just one of those childhood dreams you just think would never come true,” said Fritz. “I can’t even describe how ridiculous it is how I could play today.
“I have never experienced worse pain in my life before a match.
“If I knew it was going to be that bad, I wouldn’t have come out here. I took a couple of change-of-direction steps and screamed and honestly I was trying to act tough because I had cameras on me.
“We did a lot of work leading up to the match and I went through a rollercoaster of emotions before the match thinking there’s no way I could possibly play today.
In what is a very worrisome update, Rafael Nadal said after his match that he experienced breathing difficulties during the final match of the Indian Wells Open.
The 21-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal left the court for treatment when the score was 4-0 in favour of Taylor Fritz in the first set.
Nadal admitted after the match had ended that he was experiencing difficulty in breathing which hindered his performance.
“It’s tough for me to breathe. When I try to breathe, it’s painful and it’s very uncomfortable,” Nadal said. ”When I’m breathing when I’m moving it’s like a needle all the time inside here. I get dizzy a little bit because it’s painful.
“It’s a kind of pain that limits me a lot. It’s not only about pain, I don’t feel very well because it affects my breathing.
“Honestly I am sad because of the way I was not able to compete. 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 it’s going to take.”
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