Opinion – James Spencer (Twitter – @jspencer28)
It might have been over a week since American Taylor Fritz was crowned champion of Indian Wells, but it hasn’t stopped the tennis community from being in awe of what he has achieved.
Many were left shocked that the 20th seed was able to beat the in-form world number seven Andrey Rublev, who has two titles to his name already this season.
But to top that and beat the legendary Rafael Nadal in the final, a man who was on a 20-match win streak after winning the Melbourne Summer Set Cup, Australian Open and Acapulco, it is SOME achievement.
In straight sets as well, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5).
And also, one the Fritz family will be very proud of, as Taylor’s parents were both players on the ATP and WTA Tours.
Of course, the Spaniard was injured with a cracked rib and was not at his best, after a titanic tussle with his younger self in Carlos Alcaraz, but it was still richly deserved for Fritz.
No one would have expected that title run, especially in his home county of California, it certainly made it all the more special for him and the USTA. (United States Tennis Association)
In fact, Fritz is the first American to win at Indian Wells since 2001 when Andre Agassi triumphed in the Californian desert.
Outside of the big three of Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, as well as Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev, the American now joins an elite band of players to have broken the mould to win a maiden Masters 1000.
This includes the likes of: Stan Wawrinka, Marin Cilic, Grigor Dimitrov, Juan Martin Del Potro, fellow Americans Jack Sock and John Isner, Dominic Thiem, Karen Khachanov, Fabio Fognini, Hubert Hurkacz, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Cameron Norrie.
Sunshine Double opportunity squandered
Fritz did have to defend himself after writing on the camera ‘sunshine emoji x2’, with the cheeky notion that a victory on the East Coast was pending.
Some saw this as arrogant but the 24-year-old from San Diego claims it was done in good faith.
But regardless, Fritz did go on a roll to win nine consecutive matches (including Indian Wells) on his way to the round of 16.
He will be bitterly disappointed at the manner of his defeat to Serbian Miomir Kecmanović, after taking the opening set.
And ironically, after he had beaten the very same player at the quarter-final stage in California just one week before.
So, what next?
Now Fritz must brace himself for the clay-court season with Monte Carlo first up.
This will not be an easy transition from hard-court to clay, so this is something him and his team will need to be wary of.
As well as the importance of avoiding injury on the dirt.
On a personal note…
I actually had the pleasure of interviewing Taylor remotely last month, and I have to say, I would never have predicted him to be a Masters 1000 winner, and definitely not so soon, within 3 weeks of interviewing him.
It is an outstanding achievement and one he should be very proud of.
But he must keep his feet on the ground, as I’m sure his tennis parents will do, if he is to enjoy more success in his young career.
