INDIAN WELLS, United States —
Taylor Fritz’s stubborn streak stood him in
good stead on Sunday as the American worked through a painful ankle injury in
time to see off Spanish great Rafael Nadal in the ATP Indian Wells Masters
final.
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Hours earlier it
looked like the 24-year-old American ranked 20th in the world wouldn’t be able
to take the court for what would turn out to be the greatest win of his career.
But after
treatment to numb the pain and against the advice of several in his camp, Fritz
found himself celebrating a 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) triumph over the 21-time
Grand Slam champion.
“In the end, I am
glad I made this decision,” Fritz said. “We’ll see how it is tomorrow. I have
an MRI tomorrow.”
He acknowledged
that his participation in next week’s Miami Masters is now “questionable.”
But he’s not sorry
he’s so “incredibly stubborn.”
The 24-year-old
Californian said that’s part of what helped him recover in time for Wimbledon
last year after he departed Roland Garros in a wheelchair then underwent
surgery to repair damage in his right knee.
“I think I’m an
extremely stubborn person,” he said of his ability to shake off injury. “I also
think I have a very high pain tolerance and not a lot of regard for potentially
damaging myself worse if I think there’s a chance I can get on the court and
play.
“It’s probably a
lot of not-so-good things that get me on the court,” added Fritz, who also kept
playing in Toronto last year when he was “seeing fuzzy and almost blacking
out.”
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