Indian Wells 2022 - Taylor Fritz wins title as Rafael Nadal's perfect start to 2022 comes to a surprising end

Taylor Fritz won the biggest title of his career to sensationally snap a visibly struggling Rafael Nadal’s perfect start to 2022 at Indian Wells. The Spaniard was the red-hot favourite heading into the final but saw his 20-match streak come to an astonishing halt as the number 20 seed claimed a 6-3 7-6 victory to become the first American to lift the trophy since Andre Agassi in 2001. Ad/> Fritz, who will climb to a career-high number 13 in the world as a result of his desert run, had been struggling with an ankle injury following his semi-final triumph over Andrey Rublev, and he admitted it had been a major concern in the hours leading up to the biggest match of his life to-date.

ATP Indian Wells'I will need to be ready' — Nadal chasing another record in Indian Wells final17 HOURS AGO /> “I can’t even begin to describe how ridiculous it is I could play like I did today (with the ankle). I’ve never experienced worse pain than that before a match. I took a couple of changes in direction with my steps and screamed.

It was tough. “We did a lot of work on the ankle leading up to the match. I went through a rollercoaster of emotions thinking there’s no way I can play.

Then I went out hitting on the back courts and feeling happy, thinking I can play. It didn’t affect me at all on court, so I couldn’t be happier.” He added: “I’ve lost matches against the big guys my whole life. It feels like they are unbeatable.

So to do it on the biggest stage…. There’s no other way, to win a big title you have got to beat the best. He was unbeaten too.