Taylor Fritz became the first American to win the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells since Andre Agassi in 2001 by beating Rafael Nadal in Sunday’s final 6-3 7-6 (7-5). Nadal had enjoyed a brilliant start to 2022 and was on an unbeaten 20-match run going in to the final. However, the Spaniard struggled at the start of the match and found himself 4-0 down in the opening set. The world no 4 required treatment from the doctor and claimed he was finding it hard to breathe.
Nadal fought back in the second set which went to a tie-break. Fritz held his nerve to see out the match and claim his second ATP Tour Title. He will be eying a place in the world’s top 10 and he continues his push up the rankings.
It has since transpired that Nadal suffered a stress fracture in his rib and will be out of action for around 4-6 weeks. This means he will have limited time to prepare for the French Open Grand Slam which starts in May. Nadal will be hoping to reclaim his crown at Roland Garros after he lost in the semi final last year to Novak Djokovic. The ‘King of Clay’ has won the Grand Slam a record 13 times.