Rafael Nadal experienced its first defeat of the season after the best start ever with three titles and twenty games won. In the final stretch of the semifinals of Indian Wells in view of Carlos Alcaraz he noticed his side was sore, he was having difficulty breathing. The symptoms worsened the next day, but he decided to go out on the track lest his rival, injured in the ankle and who had abandoned morning training, drop out.
Insider information must be run at the California facility. The American Taylor Fritz come out in the middle. He was physically affected, but not as much as a Nadal who a few days later found out he had a stress fracture in a rib. Four weeks without competition.
A relevant factor to understand is that Fritz’s 6-3 and 7-6 (5). Before, at the end of Acapulco, in 2020, Nadal won 6-3 and 6-2. They do not serve as antecedents, from the beginning because they were made on a hard court and not on grass.
Also because Nadal is healthy, from the rib and from the left foot. “No news, good news”, his coach said Francis Roig on the evolution of the foot after treatment performed after Roland Garros. And Fritz, compared to 2020, has grown as the player he announced as a junior. At 24 years old, number 14 after passing the top-10 of the world rankings, he made his debut in a Grand Slam quarterfinal.
A rookie showing himself in the ‘Cathedral’ of tennis against a legend, champion in 2008 and 2010, with eighteen consecutive Grand Slam wins. The list of winners indicates that Rafa Nadal has never lost in the quarterfinals of this tournament: 7-0.
He is ready for a more complex battle than the previous four because “Fritz, as a young man, promised a lot. His tennis has evolved a bit. It has achieved the best results recently. Now he’s moving better and that’s why his rank has risen. It is very dangerous to grass. His impact runs the ball very well. We will have to have a great day ”, said Roig about the 1.91 meter youth. tall, quick to fire.
Rafa Nadal points out that “I’m realistic and we’re in the quarterfinals, I can’t expect him to have an easy rival in a tournament like Wimbledon. We are in a round where I have to play well to win. ”
His growth in the event was blazing after a slow start. “We got here and the first thing is to be able to compete. We had a foot treatment that we didn’t know how to work. Because of the urgency with which we can be happy, we haven’t played on the lawn for three years. I think that for the moment we are doing well ”, analyzes Francis Roig, who shares work with Mark Lopezwhich also serves as ‘sparring’ to work on specific aspects of the game on non -combat days.
“If Rafa was not among the favorites at the start of the tournament, now he is. But Fritz is going to be very difficult ”, stressed the coach.
Fritz, 9-0 on grass
Feeling the North American is authorized, of Indian Wells and his 9-0 on the grass after becoming champion of Eastbourne ATP before going to London. “The decision against Rafa is simple. You don’t hesitate, like when you’re playing against someone your favorite. You always make the most aggressive decisions. ”And he claims“ freed because it was harder for me to play previous games, where I was the favorite ”.
“With two healthy we’ll see what happens”, Fritz concludes.
And who will pass, in the semifinals on Friday against the Australian Nick Kyrgios or the Chilean Christian Garin.
Source: La Verdad
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
