The tennis star from Spain won the semifinals at the Masters in Indian Wells on Saturday against his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz 6:4,4:6,6:3 and will now face Taylor Fritz in the final this Sunday (not before 11:00 p.m. CET). from the USA. He had previously beaten Andrei Rublev 7:5,6:4.
“I’m very happy to be in the final. It means a lot to me and now I just have to keep going,” said Nadal, who had to fight hard. After winning the starting set, which he only won 6: 4 despite 17 break chances, Alcaraz came back and equalized. In the deciding set, Nadal’s third service game proved to be groundbreaking. Alcaraz missed three break opportunities, while Nadal took his only chance at 4: 3 and ended the game a little later after 3:12 hours.
The win against Alcaraz was his 20th this year – he is still undefeated in 2022. The winning streak earned him victory at the Australian Open, his 21st major title in men’s record. Nadal also won the ATP tournaments in Melbourne and Acapulco.
The match was marred by violent gusts of wind in the second set. Because paper and towels were flying around, there were several short breaks in the game. “The problem in tennis is we don’t have a rule for it,” Nadal said. He doesn’t have any major problems with the wind and sees the circumstances as a challenge. However, the constant interruptions “make it unplayable for me”.
In the third set, the 35-year-old had to be treated by a physiotherapist on the pitch. He had chest pains, Nadal reported later. “I still feel it a bit, but there are still many hours until tomorrow. I hope it won’t be a problem.”
Nadal could win a Masters for the 37th time, Fritz is still waiting for his first win in a tournament of this category. The 24-year-old became the first American since John Isner to make it to the Indian Wells final in 2012. The only direct duel between the two so far was two years ago in the final in Acapulco. Nadal then won 6: 3, 6: 2.
Source: Nachrichten
