Taylor Fritz defeats Rafael Nadal to win Indian Wells tournament

(Indian Wells) American Taylor Fritz, 20th player in the world, won the Indian Wells Masters 1000 for the first time in his career on Sunday, beating in the final 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) the Spaniard Rafael Nadal yet big favorite.

The 24-year-old San Diego native wins his second tournament on the ATP circuit, after the much less prestigious grass-court tournament at Eastbourne in 2019.

He is the first American to triumph in the Californian desert since Andre Agassi in 2001.

And he is above all the first of the season to bring down the ogre Nadal, the most successful player in Grand Slams (21) since his triumph at the Australian Open at the end of January, who remained on 20 consecutive victories and aimed for a 4^and crowned in Indian Wells (after 2007, 2009 and 2013).

The Spaniard, who will have to wait to equal the record of 37 Masters 1000 titles held by Novak Djokovic, will only have to console himself with the assurance of climbing to 3^and world ranking as of Monday.

He ended up becoming human again, facing an opponent whose rumor however said that he was not at 100% of his means, because he had to quickly shorten his morning training, the fault of a recalcitrant ankle. The day before after dismissing the Russian Andrey Rublev (7^and), he admitted to having hurt himself a little at the end of the match.

But the most suffering of the two was obviously not the one we thought. Nadal, who had also caused chest pain in the third of his tough fight against his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz (19^e), again called on the physio after losing the first round. And he left to be treated in the locker room for a good five minutes.

He had just given up the first set, against Fritz, who, like the day before, to get rid of the Russian Andrey Rublev (7^and), also on a virtuous series stopped at 14 victories, set the tone from the start of the match.

The American was aggressive and seized his chance almost in every exchange, relying on his excellent first ball and his cross backhand, his best weapon.

Nadal resisted as best he could in the second set, despite an increasingly obvious pain – this time he had his back massaged on the court – which mainly penalized him on the backhand side, with a lot of unforced errors at the end.

But he also won some big points by going after himself, suggesting yet another comeback, after saving a first match point at 5-4 against him on his serve.

But for once, he was unable to convert the break points which might have revived everything and he ended up giving in to the decisive game, Fritz not missing his chance.

Iga Swiatek wins

Stronger and more determined, in the wake of an excellent start to the year, Iga Swiatek won the Indian Wells WTA 1000 for the first time in her career on Sunday, at the expense of the Greek Maria Sakkari, too timid for her first grand final.

The Pole won with authority 6-4, 6-1 in 1h20, at the end of a final, which was far from reaching the heights, the fault of a swirling wind which often disturbed the two players .

Swiatek, who was 4^and world before this tournament, will rise to the 2^and place on Monday, in place of the Czech Barbora Krejcikova, who, like Ashleigh Barty (N.1), winner of the Australian Open, was absent in California.

“I am really upset. After playing so well in previous tournaments, I didn’t think I could keep playing so well for so long. I did not expect to find myself in this position, “exclaimed the semi-finalist of the last Australian Open.

Revealed by her surprise victory at Roland-Garros in 2020, Swiatek won her fifth title on the women’s circuit at the age of 20, her second of the year after that gleaned at the end of February in Doha, where she had already dismissed Sakkari in passing. semi final. She is also unbeaten in 11 games.

For their reunion, almost a month later, in another desert setting, Swiatek confirmed the ascendancy taken over her 26-year-old rival, who had won their first three confrontations, but found herself there for the first time on the last step of a WTA 1000.

As the day before during the men’s semi-final won by the Spaniard Rafael Nadal against his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz, the wind, although less powerful, terribly hampered the players on service (seven double faults each in total).

Sakkari 3^and

After four breaks to start, Swiatek was the first to win her bet to lead 3-2, taking the net from the fighting-ready Greek from the baseline.

But Sakkari, broken for the third time in a row, was able to come back up to his opponent, before finally winning his bet (4-4).

Swiatek recovered and was able to place a few sharp attacks, to steal Sakkari’s commitment for the fourth time and conclude 6-4 on her third opportunity.

The Pole, who succeeds the winners to the Spaniard Paula Badosa, further accelerated the pace in the second round. Much more solid in the service – she never left the slightest break point to the Greek in this second act – she definitely escaped by robbing her opponent’s serve twice more. Contrary to her habits, the latter gave up a little too quickly.

“It was not my day, a lot of emotions came over me. It’s one of the best tournaments in the world, it will have a special place in my heart, ”reacted Sakkari, who will also, from Monday, climb the rankings, going from 6^and at the 3^and square. Until then, the only representative of Greek tennis to have entered the Top 3 of the world rankings was Stefanos Tsitsipas, last year, in the men’s category (he is now 5^and world player at the ATP).

Sakkari’s arrival on the WTA rankings podium is a testament to his progress, after his semi-finals at Roland-Garros and the United States Open in 2021, but which still did not translate into a victory in a major tournament.

Her only title, in now five finals played, the 26-year-old Athenian won on clay in Rabat in 2019.