Final Preview: Can Fritz Prevent Nadal From Making History?

Rafael Nadal will aim to write another historic chapter into his legendary career on Sunday when he faces American Taylor Fritz in the BNP Paribas Open final.

The Spaniard has been red-hot this season, with his three-set semi-final victory over #NextGenATP Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz extending his personal-best start to a year to 20-0. If the World No. 4 can defeat Fritz in the championship match, he will clinch a record-equalling 37th ATP Masters 1000 crown, drawing level with Novak Djokovic.

The fourth seed, who has spent over 12 hours on court en route to the final, is delighted with his run in the California desert and is ready for a tough test against Fritz.

“Being in the final here in Indian Wells means a lot to me,” Nadal said following his win over Alcaraz. “[It] is a very special place. A match like today helps for the confidence. I know I will need to be ready physically and mentally, in terms of playing at a very high level of tennis because he’s playing well.

“[Fritz played a] super aggressive match against a very difficult player to play like Rublev. I think he played with great determination and very aggressively. I saw a lot of the match and he played very well.”

While Nadal prepares to compete in his 53rd Masters 1000 final, Fritz will be playing in his first after he edged Andrey Rublev 7-5, 6-4 on Saturday to maintain his impressive record in Indian Wells.

The World No. 20 is a California native and is the first American man to advance to the championship match at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden since John Isner in 2012. If Fritz can go one step further and upset Nadal, he will become the first man from his country to lift the Indian Wells trophy since Andre Agassi in 2001.

“It doesn’t even seem real,” Fritz said after his win against Rublev. “I’m just trying to take in the moment, regroup and come back tomorrow for the final. But it’s a dream come true.

“These moments are the reason why I wanted to be an athlete, wanted to play professional tennis. It’s the best part of it all.”

Fritz is now 9-1 in Indian Wells in the past six months, having also reached the semi-finals in October when the event was moved from March 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

He has notched impressive wins against Top 10 stars Matteo Berrettini, Alexander Zverev and Rublev across the two editions of the event and is projected to climb into the Top 15 of the ATP Rankings on Monday.

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Nadal will carry a 1-0 ATP Head2Head series lead into the match after he triumphed 6-3, 6-2 in their clash in the final in Acapulco in 2020. It is an encounter Fritz is aiming to learn from as he gears up for the biggest match of his career.

“I remember I felt he played high spinny balls to me and almost gave me a lot of forehands in my favourite spot at shoulder height,” Fritz said. “I think he just kept doing it until I missed eventually.

“I kind of beat myself trying to fire off winners against him. I think my level is so much higher than then, so I won’t be feeling I need to pull the trigger so much. I can kind of play more within myself.”

This week, Fritz has eliminated Kamil Majchrzak, Jaume Munar, Alex de Minaur, Miomir Kecmanovic as well as Rublev, while Nadal has taken out Sebastian Korda, Daniel Evans, Reilly Opelka, Nick Kyrgios and Alcaraz.

Nadal has enjoyed a remarkable 2022 season, winning titles at the Melbourne Summer Set and the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC, while he won a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam trophy at the Australian Open. The 35-year-old is projected to rise to No. 3 on Monday.

Meanwhile, Fritz earned ATP Cup victories over Felix Auger-Aliassime and Cameron Norrie before reaching the fourth round at Melbourne Park. The 20th seed, who lifted the trophy in Eastbourne in 2019, will be aiming to win his second tour-level title when he plays Nadal on Stadium 1 at 3:00 p.m. local time.