Taylor Fritz has won his second professional career title after defeating former world number one, Rafael Nadal 6-3 7-6 (7-5) at the final of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. Fritz second achievement of the day was being the first man to defeat Nadal this year, ending his unbeaten run, with 20 wins and 3 titles, since this season started.

The 24-year-old, who won his first title in June 2019, took advantage of Nadal’s unforced errors, saving two break points in the second set and winning the tie-break, to win the title.

Nadal commented after the match that he had problem breathing during the game, which may have contributed to the errors he made: “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. 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.” He also commented that he was deeply worried about the issue since he does not know what the problem is or how long it could take for him to recover from it. He has pulled out from the Miami Open and said he would take some time off before the clay season begins.

Fritz has now become the first American since 2001 to win the BNP Paribas, an event hosted in California, United States. He described winning the event as a childhood dream. There were concerns that he was going to pull out after suffering an ankle injury at the semifinals, but that did not prove to be an issue during his final play on Monday.

In the women’s side, Iga Swiatek beat Maria Sakkari 6-4 6-1 to win the women’s title. The win also boosted Swiatek to world number 2, her highest ranking so far.

Written by: Leon Osamor