Taylor Fritz to play Rafael Nadal in his first Masters final appearance after stunning Andrey Rublev at Indian Wells

Taylor Fritz is through to his first ATP Masters 1000 final after beating Andrey Rublev 7-5, 6-4 at the Indian Wells semi-final. The world No. 20 overcame the Russian in one hour and 47 minutes to end the world No.

7's 13-match winning streak. Ad/> Fritz is the first American man in an Indian Wells final since 2012 and will face 21-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal, who beat Carlos Alcaraz in a three-set thriller later in the day, in what will be the biggest match of his career. ATP Indian WellsHome favourite Fritz ready for Rublev after ending Kecmanovic's runYESTERDAY AT 23:01 «It's just unreal, really,» Fritz said after the match.

«It doesn't even seem real. I'm just trying to take in the moment, regroup and come back tomorrow for the final, but it's a dream come true. »Today I definitely played my best match of the tournament so far.

I was so much more aggressive from the ground and so much more solid [with] my groundstrokes, whereas [in] other matches I was maybe playing a bit safer," Fritz said. «I really tried to take it to him and impose my game today. I did it well, so that helped a lot.» /> It was evident from the early stages that the match would be won at the baseline and it was Rublev who was making more unforced errors.

The 24-year-old was clearly affected by the partisan crowd inside Stadium 1. Although he recovered to save eight of the 11 break points he faced, but the seventh seed could not handle Fritz's power who take the opener in one hour. Rublev was furious with himself, smacking a ball into the air before punching his racquet's stringbed.