Taylor Fritz ends Rafael Nadal's 20-match win streak with win at Indian Wells
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- American Taylor Fritz upset Rafael Nadal 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'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's usual fighting spirit was on full display, but he came into the match bothered by painful breathing that he first experienced in a three-set semifinal win Saturday.
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 also 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.''
Fritz was dealing with his own health issue.
He tweaked an ankle late in his semifinal win over No. 7 seed Andrey Rublev. He cut short a practice session early Sunday, and blue medical tape could be seen above his high sock.
Fritz raced to a 5-1 lead in the first set, breaking Nadal twice. Nadal got a break back in closing to 5-3, but his backhand error gave Fritz another break and the set.
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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 Fritz held for a 6-5 lead. Nadal held to force the tiebreaker.
Nadal sent two straight forehands well wide to set up Fritz's second match point. Another Nadal error sent the 24-year-old 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.
"Winning this tournament is just one of those crazy childhood dreams that you don't think is ever going to happen,'' he said.
Fritz dropped his racket and collapsed on his back. He got up smiling with a look of disbelief on his face. He became the first American man to win Indian Wells since Andre Agassi in 2001 and earned $1.2 million in the process.
Fritz is projected to rise from No. 20 to a career-high 13th in Monday's ATP Tour rankings and will become the top-ranked American player. Nadal moves up to No. 3.
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.
Nadal had already decided to skip next week's tournament in Miami and head home to Spain to prepare for the French Open, which begins May 22.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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