INDIAN WELLS — Hours from playing in the biggest final of his young career, Taylor Fritz was in severe pain. The prospect of having to withdraw against Rafael Nadal nearly had him in tears.

In the mostly full 16,100-seat Indian Wells stadium, Fritz became the first player to beat Nadal this season, snapping the Spanish tennis star’s 20-match win streak to start the 2022 season.

MADRID, SPAIN - MAY 06: Rafael Nadal of Spain in action during day nine of Mutua Madrid Open at La Caja Magica on May 6, 2022 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Pablo Morano/MB Media/Getty Images) Getty ...

claiming the title in 2022 after ending Rafael Nadal’s 21-0 unbeaten streak that year (6-3, 7-6). However, Fritz has proven that his success at Indian Wells wasn’t just a one-off run in 2022.

Taylor Fritz won the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells back in 2022, beating Rafael Nadal 6-3, 7-6 (5) in the final. The American is clearly capable of playing some high-level tennis here.

Listening to Fritz ... Nadal to win the second set in a tiebreaker. So we know that Fritz’s serve-forehand attack can work against Rafa; if he could do it on slow hard courts in Indian Wells ...

Taylor Fritz is the third seed in Indian Wells, and will be looking to improve on an average start to the year. The American crashed out of the Australian Open in the third round to Gael Monfils ...

It was also his 20th win at the tournament in the space of just 22 career matches in Indian Wells, his only defeats coming to ...