Taylor Fritz often visited the Indian Wells Tennis Garden as a child with his family to watch the BNP Paribas Open.
On one of the visits, his father, Guy Fritz who is also a former tennis player and currently works as a coach, told him to win the tournament title one day.
The 24-year-old tennis player proved his father’s words by picking up a straight sets win over Spain’s Rafael Nadal in the 2022 BNP Paribas Open final.
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“After the game I kept saying, ‘No way, no way’. I can’t believe this is real,” Fritz exclaimed. “I put a mark on the camera, I just wrote a question mark. surprised. Can’t even believe it.”
“This is truly a childhood dream come true, like a wild dream you never expected to come true.”
However, the dream almost became a nightmare after the home player was about to withdraw from the match due to an ankle injury he picked up at the end of the semi-final against Andrey Rublev. He felt the worst pain imaginable when he warmed up before the final.
“I was really annoyed. Basically I almost cried because I thought I was going to resign,” admits Taylor Fritz.
After receiving treatment from a doctor on the pitch for an hour, he returned to training and finally decided – against the expectations of his team, including his coaches, Michael Russell and Paul Annacone and fitness coach, Wolfgng Oswald – to give it a try.
“It was like a game of timing. My team members want me not to compete. I never let them forget it because I entered the court and it wasn’t really an obstacle, didn’t feel it, didn’t get in my way.
“I’m going to keep thinking about it for quite a while if at least I don’t go out on the pitch and try to play. That’s what I told them. They said they didn’t agree, but they supported my decision. I apologize to them for being so stubborn.”
This is not the first time the 24-year-old has come back from injury. After leaving the court in a wheelchair at the 2021 French Open, he underwent surgery. Less than a month later, he advanced to the third round of Wimbledon before losing in five sets to Alexander Zverev.
After making a breakthrough by advancing to the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open in October last season, the host player has found more confidence in his game. Since last October, he has recorded 26-8, including 10-1 at Indian wells.
The 24-year-old is hopeful that his ankle will allow him to play at the Miami Open, which will take place right after the BNP Paribas Open, with MRI tests on Monday (21/3) revealing the true injury. In his opinion, he will step down in pursuit of a second Masters 1000 title of his career.
“It is now of course questionable. I feel bad for my team, I’m so stubborn,” said Taylor Fritz.
