It was Andrei Rublev (7th ATP) who was in a very good shape and was the favorite of the Saturday semi-finals. The 24-year-old Russian had a series of thirteen wins in a row, and at Indian Wells he did very well. He did not lose a set in four matches and defeated (11. ATP) 7: 6, 6: 4.
The American’s first final in ten years
On the other hand, Rublev’s peer – Taylor Fritz (20th ATP), winner of 2015 in the boys’ competition, had a lot of problems. After easily winning the first match with Kamil Majchrzak 6: 1, 6: 1, then he played three sets in three games in a row. In addition, two of them decided only in the tie-break in the deciding game.
However, the Russian started the duel badly, because he was losing 0: 3 in no time. In the sixth game, he had to defend himself against his rival’s three chances for a double break. He managed to do it, however, and in the ninth game he took Taylor Fritz’s service, and a moment later led to a 5: 5 draw. In the twelfth game, however, Rublev was broken again and lost the set.
In the second party, the Russian failed again in the endgame. At 4: 4, he missed two chances to break, and in the next game he was broken.
Rublev had more winners (23-22), but also unforced mistakes (23-16).
Taylor Fritz will appear in the first ATP 1000 final in his career. On Saturday, he became the first American in ten years to reach the final of the Indian Wells tournament. In 2012, John Isner played in the decisive match and lost to 6: 7, 3: 6.
– Today I played my best match in this tournament by far. I was much more aggressive and much more solid in hitting. In previous games I wasn’t that regular and I was a little safer. I wanted to impose my game today. I did it right so it helped a lot, Fritz said after the game.
He also did not hide the enormous joy of being promoted to the finals.
– It’s just unreal, really. It doesn’t even feel real. I will just try to capture this moment and come back to the final tomorrow. This is a dream come true for me. I would also like to thank the fans very much. Without your amazing support, I wouldn’t have won this game, Fritz said.
In the finals, the American will face a real challenge – a duel with the 21-time winner of the Grand Slam tournaments, this year unbeaten Rafael Nadal (4th ATP). Fritz and Nadal already played together in one final. Two years ago, the Spaniard was better in Acapulco, winning 6: 3, 6: 2.
The final match Nadal – Fritz will start on Sunday at 23 Polish time.
Source: Sport
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
