No. 13 Taylor Fritz, +7 (Career High)
The 24-year-old has jumped into the Top 15 of the ATP Rankings for the first time after he captured his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title at the BNP Paribas Open. Fritz, who defeated Rafael Nadal in the final, is the first American man to lift the trophy in Indian Wells since Andre Agassi in 2001. It is the second time Fritz has triumphed after a tour-level event, following his victory in Eastbourne in 2019. Read Indian Wells Final Report & Watch Highlights.

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No. 3 Rafael Nadal, +1
The Spaniard has risen one place after he soared to the championship match in the Californian desert. The 35-year-old, who clinched the crown in Indian Wells in 2007, 2009 and 2013, earned hard-fought wins against Nick Kyrgios and #NextGenATP countryman Carlos Alcaraz to improve to 20-1 on the season.

No. 16 Carlos Alcaraz, +3 (Career High)
The 18-year-old’s rapid rise up the ATP Rankings shows little sign of slowing. The Spaniard dispatched Top 20 stars Roberto Bautista Agut, Gael Monfils and Cameron Norrie in straight sets in Indian Wells as he advanced to the semi-finals at a Masters 1000 tournament for the first time.

Other Notable Top 100 Movers

No. 1 Novak Djokovic, +1
No. 10 Hubert Hurkacz, +1
No. 24 Gael Monfils, +4
No. 28 Alex de Minaur, +3
No. 29 Grigor Dimitrov, +6
No. 39 Jenson Brooksby, +39 (Career High)
No. 42 Botic van de Zandschulp, +5 (Career High)
No. 48 Miomir Kecmanovic, +13
No. 69 Daniel Altmaier, +10 (Career High)
No. 84 Denis Kudla, +18

Taylor Fritz often visited the Indian Wells Tennis Garden as a kid, with his family making the two-hour drive from their home in Rancho Santa Fe to watch the tournament action. On one of those trips, his father — Guy Fritz, a former professional player and current coach — told him he would win the desert title one day.

The 24-year-old proved him right with a 6-3, 7-6(5) win over Rafael Nadal on Sunday, though reality is still setting in.

“After the match I kept saying, ‘No way, no way.’ I can’t believe it’s real,” the American told the press after claiming the trophy. “I signed the camera, I just put question marks. Stunned. Couldn’t even believe it.

“This is seriously like a childhood dream come true, like a wild dream you never expect to actually happen. It really hasn’t even sunk in.”

But the dream nearly turned into a nightmare, as Fritz was on the verge of pulling out of the match with an ankle problem following a tweak late in his semi-final victory against Andrey Rublev. Fritz felt “the worst pain imaginable” as he attempted to push off during his warmup.

“I was really upset,” he said, “basically almost crying because I thought I was going to have to pull out.”

After an hour of work with an on-site doctor, Fritz went back out for another practice session and ultimately decided — against the wishes of his team, including coaches Michael Russell and Paul Annacone, and fitness trainer Wolfgang Oswald — to give it a shot.

“It was a game-time decision,” he explained. “A lot of members of my team wanted me to not play the match. I’m never going to let them forget that because I went on the court and it was a complete non-issue, didn’t feel it at all, didn’t hinder me at all.”

He later explained his thought process just before the match: “The way it feels right now, I’d be thinking about it for a long time if I don’t at least go out and try to play. That’s what I told them. They said they don’t agree but they’ll back my decision. I apologised to them for being so incredibly stubborn.”

It’s not the first time Fritz has made a seemingly miraculous injury comeback. After leaving the court on a wheelchair at Roland Garros in 2021, Fritz underwent surgery for a torn meniscus. Less than a month later, he reached the third round at Wimbledon before losing a five-setter to Alexander Zverev.

Not long after contemplating what he would say to the Indian Wells crowd if he pulled out, Fritz instead addressed his home fans as their champion.

Not only did Fritz pick up his first ATP Masters 1000 title, he also got his first win in nine tries against the ‘Big Three’ (he has not played Andy Murray) and leveled his ATP Head2Head record to 1-1 against Nadal. Fritz called beating the Spaniard the “icing on the cake,” recalling watching Nadal and Federer dominate as a kid.

He will rise to No. 13 in the ATP Rankings with the result, reclaiming the title of No. 1 American from Reilly Opelka. But his goals for the season remain the same.

“I don’t want to get ahead of myself. I want to take things one step at a time,” he explained. “My goal for the last couple months has been Top 10. This obviously helps a lot to put me closer to that goal. That’s going to remain the goal for now, Top 10.

“Obviously I’d love to go way higher than that and achieve way more than that… It’s just one tournament. [I still need to] go back to work, never be satisfied with the good results. Just keep wanting more.”

Raw emotions from this guy 🤗@Taylor_Fritz97 #IndianWells pic.twitter.com/N59m3yrzuL

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 21, 2022

Fritz attributed his title run to three key factors: his forehand, his serve and his success on the big points. He was 4-0 in tie-breaks in his six-match run, including consecutive third-set tie-breaks over Jaume Munar and Alex de Minaur.

After a breakthrough run to the Indian Wells semi-finals in October, Fritz has gone from strength to strength with a newfound confidence in his game. He is now 26-8 since October, including a 10-1 mark in the desert.

“Since the last edition of this tournament, it’s been the forehand that’s really been clicking for me. Just being able to unload and trust it. It used to be a shot that would just misfire, almost lose me matches. Now it’s like I can trust it no matter what to really pull the trigger on a big point, get extra free points.”

Fritz is hopeful that his ankle will allow him to play in Miami next week, with a Monday MRI set to reveal the extent of the injury. If it’s up to him, he’ll be out there chasing a second ATP Masters 1000 title in the Florida sunshine.

“It’s obviously questionable right now,” he said. “I feel bad for [my team], I’m so stubborn.”

Rafael Nadal made it very clear that his loss in the BNP Paribas Open final was a credit to Taylor Fritz’s performance above all else. However, the Spaniard admitted that he struggled with an injury in his first loss of the 2022 season (20-1).

“I had pain, honestly. I had problems breathing. I don’t know if it’s something on the rib, I don’t know yet. 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,” Nadal said. “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.

“[It is] more than [being] sad for the loss, [that is] something that I accepted immediately, and even before the match ended. It’s more about that I am suffering a little bit, honestly.”

There were signs of trouble for the Spaniard towards the end of his three-set battle against countryman Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals. During that match, he received a visit from an ATP physiotherapist. 

“I tried my best. Of course, [it has] not been my day. But that happens. I have experience in all these situations. So in the moment, of course, it’s tough to play a final like this. [I] tried ’til the end. That’s it,” Nadal said. “Even [though] I had my chances in the second set, I didn’t convert too many chances. That’s it. I think it’s a difficult match to analyse personally from my side because I was not able to do many things.”

Nadal later added: “It’s not the moment to talk about that, honestly. Even if it’s obvious that I was not able to do the normal things today… That’s it. It’s a final. I tried. I lost against a great player.”

Two years ago in the Acapulco final, Nadal lost just five games against Fritz. The lefty was highly complimentary of the strides the American has been making.

“Victories like today help. He played well. He went through some great matches during this week I think, especially yesterday. A lot of credit to him on the victory of yesterday. In my opinion, his victory of yesterday is much bigger than his victory of today because he had [a] much tougher opponent in front yesterday,” Nadal said. “He already played great matches in Australia, this year if I’m not wrong, against [Stefanos] Tsitsipas.

“It’s obvious that he is improving. With this victory, it’s a great start of the season for him. He will have chance to be very close if not in the Top 10 very soon.”

Despite the loss, it has been a tremendous start to the season for Nadal, whose 20-match winning streak to begin the year was a personal-best. He has already captured three titles in 2022, including his 21st Grand Slam trophy at the Australian Open.

“Honestly, I wanted to make it perfect before clay. [It] has been very, very, very beautiful. Honestly I am sad because the way I was not able to compete. It’s tough to have these feelings… But in the final it’s very, very ugly,” Nadal said. “But in sport it’s not about talking of the past. We need to talk about today. And today is a difficult day for me.”

Nadal will now turn his attention to the clay-court season. The 35-year-old has captured 62 tour-level titles on the surface, and he will look to add more over the next few months.

“I am not [the] kind of person that goes down or goes very high emotionally depending on the moment. I am normally stable, putting everything in perspective,” Nadal said. “Of course, the past two months have have been amazing, unforgettable, very emotional. I enjoyed things that I never thought I could live again a few months ago.

“Now is the moment to try to solve this problem as soon as possible, try to start on clay. Practising starts another part of the season that I enjoy to play. Of course, every single event is so special for me. I hope to be ready for it.”

Taylor Fritz came out firing in the biggest match of his blossoming career, racing to a 4-0 lead against Rafael Nadal in the BNP Paribas Open final. Setting an aggressive tone from the first ball, Fritz had no trouble seeing home the advantage to take a a 6-3 first set in 39 minutes.

Nadal left the court for a medical timeout following the set, perhaps feeling the effects of his three-set battle with Carlos Alcaraz on Saturday evening. The Spaniard is seeking a record-tying 37th ATP Masters 1000 title while also bidding to extend his perfect 20-0 record and claim his fourth tour-level title of the 2022 season. 

Fritz, playing in his first Masters 1000 final, has the opportunity to become the first American men’s champion at Indian Wells since Andre Agassi in 2001. At 24, he can also become the youngest Indian Wells men’s champ since Novak Djokovic in 2011.

The 20th seed came out with an attacking game plan that was aided by a heavy helping of second serves from Nadal early on. Powering through windy conditions — though nothing as severe as Saturday night — the American took the initiative from the start and scored a break on his fourth break point of the opening game. Similar tactics earned him a second straight break, both consolidated with love holds.

Fritz won half (16/32) of his points on the return in the set, according to Infosys ATP Stats, breaking in three of five return games.

Nadal created and converted his first break point of the opener to close to 5-3, but Fritz answered back with the help of some Nadal errors to seal the set on the return.

The American’s preparations for the final were interrupted when he stopped his first warmup short because of an ankle problem, stemming from a tweak late in his semi-final win against Andrey Rublev. He returned for a second warm-up at 2 p.m. local time, hitting for 25 minutes ahead of the scheduled 3 p.m. start.

More to follow…

With his opponent coming in on a 13-match winning-streak, Taylor Fritz could have been forgiven for buckling under the pressure.

Yet the American admitted his underdog status had given him licence to play without pressure against the in-form Andrey Rublev in the semi-finals of the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday, as he clinched a 7-5, 6-4 win to become the first American man to reach the championship match in Indian Wells since John Isner in 2012.

“It’s awesome,” said Fritz at his post-match press conference. “I feel like I’ve served really well all week [but] prior to today didn’t play my best tennis from the back of the court. I feel like a little bit of that was nerves, kind of seeing the draw open up, playing these matches where I kind of expect myself to win.

“Today was a bit different. I knew that I had to play to a certain level. I couldn’t play the way I was playing previous matches. So I played by far my best match today from the ground, especially. I hit the ball really well, so [it is] definitely kind of the confidence booster I need going into the final, to feel like I am really playing my best tennis.

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

Personal Best 💫@Taylor_Fritz97 reaches his first Masters 1000 level final with his defeat of Rublev in the desert! pic.twitter.com/0xzTD7X3qN

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 19, 2022

The 20th seed now attempts to become the first man to defeat Rafael Nadal in 2022 in Sunday’s final. The pair has met only once on the ATP Tour, in the final of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC in Acapulco in 2020. The Spaniard ran out a 6-3, 6-2 winner that day but Fritz is not worried about past experiences affecting him during the clash in Indian Wells.

“I think my level’s so much higher than then,” said the American. “So I maybe won’t be feeling like I need to pull the trigger so much, need to do so much. I can just play more within myself.”

Despite his own improvements, Fritz knows what to expect from the relentless Spaniard and acknowledges he will need to hit his peak level if he wants to pull off a famous victory in front of his home fans.

“He [Nadal] is always going to be there every point, he’s not going to give you anything,” said Fritz. “It’s just the competitiveness, he’s always going to want it so bad.

“From my standpoint, maybe I’m not going to get completely served off the court, I can potentially get looks at return games. But he’s such a good returner that it [also] works the other way, he’s going to get looks at my serves. I’ve been serving great all week, but he’ll still return my serve.”

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Looking at the bigger picture of his 2022 season, Fritz will not be putting too much pressure on getting a result on Sunday and will view his run at Indian Wells as a positive regardless of whether he ends up lifting the trophy.

“This is a long season,” said the World No. 20. “So I’m going to go out, play the final tomorrow just like I played the match today. If I win that’s awesome. If I lose, it’s a good week. I’m going to go just play my style of tennis and I’m not going to let the moment affect me.

“It’s a great start to the year either way, and [I will] regroup, build on it, and keep these results coming the rest of the year. I really do feel like once you have certain results, it makes it a lot easier for me to repeat it and do it again, once I have that confidence that I’ve been there before.”

The 2019 Eastbourne champion believes coming face to face with Nadal once again will only help him in his pursuit of further success in 2022. He takes inspiration from the Spaniard, as well as Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, as he tries to emulate some of their achievements.

“I think [it is] amazing [how] you can have three guys that are so incredibly good, that all have a completely different process of going about their training and their business, and how there’s not one way or one thing that they do to become the best.

“It’s really interesting seeing how they all have different processes. It’s just really cool seeing that they all have their own way that works for them and as a younger player it’s good knowing that you do what works for you.”

Rafael Nadal knows what it takes to become an all-time great. So when he touts someone for success, it’s best to sit up and take notice.

The legendary Spaniard weathered tricky conditions to edge his young compatriot Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in a semi-final thriller at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on Saturday. It was nonetheless another stunning showing from 2021 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals champion Alcaraz, whose performances continue to belie his tender age.

At his post-match press conference, Nadal highlighted the versatility of the 18-year-old’s game as something that particularly stands out.

“I think he has all the shots,” said Nadal after extending his unbeaten record this year to 20-0. “He can play very aggressive. He can play defensive because he’s super fast. He can defend amazing balls. Of course, when he’s playing aggressive, it is difficult to stop him because the quality of his ball is very high.

“I think he has all the ingredients to become an amazing champion. I didn’t come to the match more nervous because I was playing a youngster. I treated it like I was playing against a top-eight player. In terms of level, that was my feeling.”

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Nadal sees elements of his own experiences in the way Alcaraz is handling his rapid rise. He has faith that the young Spaniard will stay on course for greatness.

“When you are young, when you are living new experiences for the first time, everything is new,” said Nadal. “You are playing in stadiums, against opponents, in tournaments that just one or two years ago you were watching on TV.

“I think you’re excited. You have the passion. You have nothing to lose…he’s at the beginning of this process.

“It looks like he’s humble enough to work hard and to understand that we, the tennis players, if we want to be great champions, the only way is to keep improving during all our careers. That’s what I tried. I really believe that he’s doing that.

“I don’t have many doubts that he will be great. He is already, by the way!”

Such is Alcaraz’s level that his opponent deployed a change of strategy to give himself the best possible chance against the World No. 19. Nadal’s volleying prowess is perhaps often overlooked, but he came forward regularly on Saturday night to try and counter the Alcaraz game, winning 54 per cent (20/37) points coming forward according to Infosys ATP Stats. Despite the tactic not always working out, the Spaniard was pleased with how it served him at the most crucial moments.

“Today I did easy volleys, bad volleys, and very difficult volleys, great volleys,” said Nadal. “Especially at the end I saved some amazing balls with the volley. I played aggressive. [I was] determined to do what I needed to do to win the match.

“I like to come into the net. The last couple of years I am doing [it] more and more. I even do serve-and-volley more often than I used to…I feel comfortable there. It’s something that I need to do. As part of my game at this stage of my career, I need to do things to play more aggressive. Going to the net helps my game in general.”

Nadal now hunts a record-equalling 37th ATP Masters 1000 title (levelling with Novak Djokovic) in Sunday’s final against home favourite Taylor Fritz. The Spaniard took their only previous meeting in the final of the 2020 Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC in Acapulco in straight sets, but has been impressed with the 20th seed’s progress in Indian Wells.

“We are different players. I don’t think [the Acapulco match] is important. I am ready to face a very tough opponent, playing with amazing confidence. Since the beginning of the season, he’s playing a great level of tennis, so it is going to be a tough one.”

Despite the heavy schedule his success in 2022 has brought him, Nadal is ready for another big push in Sunday’s championship match. “Physically I feel well,” he said. “I played almost three hours the other day, three hours today. In terms of physical performance, I don’t feel very tired.

“With the conditions, I always felt good physically here. I think I never lost a match here for a physical issue, in terms of being tired. I am quite well, honestly. I can’t complain. I am enjoying it. I had plenty of tough battles this week, but I am still alive.”