Rafael Nadal suffered his first defeat of 2022 at the Indian Wells masters tournament. The 35-year-old Spaniard lost in the final in two sets to American Taylor Fritz: 6-3 7-6 (5). For 24-year-old Fritz, it is only his second tournament win and the biggest title of his career.
Fourth-seeded Nadal started the final in Indian Wells poorly. He immediately lost his serve and then did it again. Fritz, the number 20 of the placement list, ran out to 4-0. Nadal didn’t seem quite fit and took a painkiller between games.
The Spaniard, who had won difficult victories against Australian Nick Kyrgios and his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz, came back a break, but saw the set go to Fritz 6-3. He then requested medical treatment.
Long rallies
Nadal recovered a bit in the second set. With a break he came to 2-1, but he immediately gave up that lead again. From 3-3, both tennis players provided exciting games and long rallies, with the American surviving the necessary breakpoints. At 5-4 for Fritz, Nadal had himself treated again by the physiotherapist, who massaged his back.
Fritz then came to his first match point, but the Spaniard worked it out and leveled the score again. In the tiebreak Fritz got his second match point at 6-5. He now finished it on his own service.
Nadal was still undefeated in 2022. He captured his 21st grand slam title at the Australian Open in January, giving him one more grand slam title than rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. He also won the ATP tournaments in Melbourne and Acapulco.
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