March 20 is a day Taylor Fritz, the Southern California native, will never forget.

“My dad brought me here (to Indian Wells) as a kid,” Fritz said ahead of his appearance in the final of the BNP Paribas Open. “He told me that I was going to win this tournament one day when I was a little kid,” admitting that only recently did he come to believe it might actually happen. After beating seventh-ranked Andrey Rublev in the semifinal at Indian Wells, Fritz had only one thing standing in his way: former world No. 1 and 21-time Grand slam champion Rafael Nadal.

Early on Sunday afternoon, the underdog from Rancho Palos Verdes stepped out on Stadium 1 for his pre-final match warmups. Preparing for the biggest match of his career, Fritz began some routine movements and drills, before wincing and screaming in pain. He almost immediately called it quits, beginning the emotional day with a rocky start. 

“​​It wasn’t till I got on the court to warm up. I took one push-off step and literally screamed,” explained Fritz, who had tweaked his ankle in his semi-final match the day prior. “I tried it twice more. Both times, like, the worst pain imaginable. I was really upset, basically almost crying because I thought I was going to have to pull out.”

Not willing to give up on his dream at a chance for a historical title on his own home turf, Fritz explained that after an hour-long trip to the doctor, he returned to a smaller, more secluded practice court and started hitting. It was then that he realized, “wow, maybe I can actually play.” Fritz continued to recall: “I had this feeling of hope the next time I went back on the practice court. It was a game-time decision. A lot of members of my team wanted me to not play the match… I told my team, ‘Maybe we make it worse, maybe we don’t, but I came this far and the way it feels right now, I’d be thinking about it for a long time if I don’t at least go out there and try and play.’”

That decision turned out to be the right one.

With his right ankle numbed and heavily taped, the 24-year-old stepped out onto the court and pulled an upset that will go down in history, defeating three-time BNP Paribas Open champion Nadal in straight sets for his biggest career win and first ATP Masters 1000 title.

Fritz was a force to be reckoned with right out of the gates, rising to the occasion despite the heavy winds and his physical condition. He opened the match with a break of the Spaniard’s serve, unloading blistering forehands as often as possible, quickly establishing a 4-0, double-break lead.

After Fritz won the first set 6-3, Nadal held serve in the early part of the second set and took a 2-1 lead in the set. The two went back and forth at each other, never backing down despite both of their physical health concerns. Fritz ultimately broke Nadal back to get back on serve and during the crucial fifth game. Nadal saved a championship point in the 10th game to bring the score to 5-5, but Fritz wasn’t backing down. Fritz saved three break points to hold serve and move the score to 6-5 before Nadal took the set to a tiebreak. 

With thousands watching in suspense, the crowd’s echoing roars continued to grow. He took the early 2-0 lead when Nadal climbed back up to take a 5-4 lead. Fritz ultimately showed more resilience against one of the greatest and most resilient players ever, scoring the next three points. In utter disbelief of what he had just done, Fritz threw his hands in the air and fell to the ground in excitement. 

“After the match, I kept saying ‘no, no, no way it’s real.’ I signed the camera and just put question marks. I was stunned because I couldn’t even believe it,” Fritz said on the verge of tears. “This is seriously a childhood dream come true that you never expect to actually happen. It really hasn’t even sunk in.”

It was a shocking turn of events that saw the young American, just five months after his original breakthrough, conquer the BNP Paribas Open veteran, and end Nadal’s 20-match winning streak. “I’ve lost these matches against the big guys all my life,” said Fritz. “It’s always felt like they are just unbeatable, so to do it on the biggest stage, there’s no other way, to win a big title I feel like you have to beat the best.” Fritz finally did just that at a tournament his dad said that he would one day win, in a match he almost didn’t play. 

“These moments are the reason why I wanted to be an athlete, wanted to play professional tennis. It’s the best part of it all,” exclaimed Fritz. 

Fritz has been attending the Indian Wells tournament for as long as he can remember. His dad, former tennis player Guy Fritz, is a longtime tennis coach at College of the Desert and his mother is former top 10 player Kathy May. As a child, his parents brought him to the tournament, where they’d watch all the top players, including Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and his all-time favorite, Argentina’s Juan Martin del Poro. 

Fritz was born in San Diego, grew up playing USTA Southern California juniors tennis, and attended Torrey Pines High School. As a teenager, Fritz played juniors at the Easter Bowl at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. By the age of 16, he was playing in the qualifiers at Indian Wells, and by 18 he reached the main draw.

With his win Sunday, Fritz earned the second title of his career, after the Eastbourne International in 2019. He becomes the youngest to win the men’s singles title at Indian Wells since Novak Djokovic in 2011, the youngest American to win the title since SoCal native Michael Chang in 1996, and the first American to win an Indian Wells singles title in 21 years since Andre Agassi in 2001. The win also catapults Fritz to #13 in the world, inching closer to the top 10.

When asked about his plans and goals for the future, Fritz humbly explained, “I don’t want to get ahead of myself. I want to take things one step at a time. My goal for the last couple months has been top 10. Obviously, I’d love to go way higher than that and achieve way more than that. Like I said, take it one step at a time, not get ahead of myself, it’s just one tournament. Go back to work, never be satisfied with the good results. Just keep wanting more.”

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