Tennis pro Taylor Fritz, who was born in San Diego, easily defeated Spanish great Rafael Nadal Sunday in the men’s final of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Fritz, the 20th-ranked player in the world, won in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6(5).
The Torrey Pines High alum beat seventh-ranked Andrey Rublev of Russia, 7-5, 6-4, on Saturday to reach his seventh ATP tour final and first at Indian Wells.
“It doesn’t even seem real,” Fritz said. “It’s such a dream come true. It’s all the hard work I’ve put in throughout the years. I can see it finally paying off. It’s reason why I play tennis.”
Fritz, 24, is the first American man to reach the Indian Wells final since John Isner in 2012.
Nadal, 35 – whose 21 Grand Slam titles are the most in history – is currently ranked fourth.
Poland’s Iga Swiatek, 20, won the women’s title Sunday, beating Maria Sakkari, 26, of Greece, 6-4, 6-1.
Swiatek was ranked fourth, Sakkari sixth, but both will see their rankings rise as a result of making the finals.
“We already started a pretty cool rivalry,” said Swiatek, winner of 11 consecutive matches. “I think it’s going to last for, like, 10 more years. I’m sure we’re going to play many more finals.
– City News Service
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