ATP Masters Indian Wells: Taylor Fritz beats Andrey Rublev and is in the final!
After a two-set win over Andrey Rublev , Taylor Fritz is the first American in ten years to reach the final of the Indian Wells ATP Masters 1000 event. In the final, the twentieth in the world rankings is now waiting for the winner of the duel between Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz .
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Mar 19, 2022, 11:19 pm
Taylor Fritz, who is trying to be the first American in ten years to reach the final at the Indian Wells ATP Masters 1000 event, started his semi-final duel with Andrey Rublev like a fire brigade. The 24-year-old risked a lot, especially on the Russian's second serve - and was successful: In a hard-fought second game of the game, Fritz made the first break of the match.
As a result, Fritz looked like the better player on the field, especially since Rublev was clearly struggling with his emotions. Again and again the Russian allowed himself to break out. So it was quite surprising when the Russian made the rebreak at just the right time when the score was 5: 3. With a lot of help from Taylor Fritz, mind you, who allowed himself an extremely sloppy service game.
Fritz is waiting for Rafael Nadal or Carlos Alcaraz
When the spectators in the well-filled Stadium 1 in Indian Wells were already expecting a tie-break, Fritz still had one up his sleeve: At the score of 6: 5, the American increased the pressure on the server Rublev, who made a few minor mistakes performed – and was punished for it. With his second set ball, Fritz finally fixed the 7:5 after exactly one hour of play. Much to the chagrin of Andrey Rublev, who vented his frustration and pounded his string with his fist, injuring his finger slightly.
However, Rublev did not seem to be affected by this. The Russian acted solidly at the start of the second set on his own serve, and Fritz didn't allow much either. Until the score was 4: 3 from Taylor Fritz's point of view: First, the American had the chance to take the lead with a break. Rublev fended off and immediately missed the great opportunity to make the break.
At the score of 5:4, however, it fit, in a very strange game Rublev made one or the other mistake too many at the end - Fritz punished this with a wonderful backhand return and fixed the 7:5 and 6:4 success . In the final, Taylor Fritz is now waiting for the winner of the clash between Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alacaraz ( Click here for the match tracker ).
Click here for the Indian Wells draw!
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