Rafael Nadal had a fantastic run in Indian Wells, where he lost only to Taylor Harry Fritz in the final. Rafa looked in great shape during the tournament except for the very last games of his semifinal against Carlos Alcaraz and the final. The Spanish legend had to cope with strange breathing issues that made it impossible to compete at his 100%
During the press conference that followed his final, Nadal admitted he is a bit worried about his issue to comment:
“Honestly, it happened yesterday night. Just at the end of the match, last night, so I finishing that late yesterday and playing today in the morning. As you can imagine, I didn’t have a chance to do many things, and not even a chance to check what’s going on there. But that’s it, all that I can say is that it’s tough to breathe.”
Talking about his breathing issue, he added:
“When I try to breathe, it’s painful and it’s very uncomfortable. But that’s it, it’s not a moment to talk about that even if it’s obvious that I wasn’t able to do the normal things today. It’s the final, I tried, I lost against a great player.
I had pain. Honestly, it’s tough to as I said, I had problems breathing because I don’t know if it’s something on the rib. I am not sure yet but when I am breathing and when I am breathing it’s like a needle all the time inside here. I get dizzy little bit because it’s painful.”
Rafael Nadal in 2022
Ranked world no.3, the Spaniard played his last match on the 20th of March when he lost to world no.8 Taylor Fritz 6-3 7-6(5) in the final in Indian Wells (draw).
During this season Nadal owns a 20-1 record. Nadal clinched 3 titles in 2022 in Melbourne, at the Australian Open and in Acapulco. The Spaniard reached the final in Indian Wells.
Taylor Harry Fritz in 2022
Ranked world no.8 (career-high), Taylor played his last match on the 20th of March when he defeated world no.3 Rafael Nadal 6-3 7-6(5) in the final in Indian Wells to win his 2nd career title.
At present, during this year Fritz has a 14-4 match record. This year, The American conquered 1 tournament in Indian Wells.
Rafael Nadal and Taylor Harry Fritz fought against each other only twice. Their current head to head is 1-1. Previously, the last time they competed against each other, Taylor Harry Fritz won 6-3 7-6(5) in the final in Indian Wells (BNP Paribas Open) on the 20th of March 2022.
In the following video you can watch the highlights.
