Google News Taylor Fritz reveals what he did well in shock Indian Wells win over Rafael Nadal
by DZEVAD MESIC | VIEW 7882
Taylor Fritz says one of the positive sides of playing Rafael Nadal is that he knows exactly how to approach the match as there won't be any second-guesses. Fritz, 24, is having a career-best Grand Slam run as he has been through to his first Major quarterfinal at Wimbledon.
En route to reaching the WImbledon quarterfinal, Fritz claimed straight-set wins over Lorenzo Musetti, Alastair Gray, Alex Molcan and Jason Kubler. Three months ago in the Indian Wells Masters final, Fritz claimed his maiden Masters title after shocking Nadal 6-3 7-6 (5).
Now, Fritz plans to be aggressive again and go for his shots versus Nadal. "I was just very aggressive in that match. Took my chances. Against someone like Rafa, that's kind of how it is," Fritz said, per Ravi Ubha. "I feel like decision-making is easy.
I don't really second-guess shots like I would if I'm playing someone that I'm supposed to beat. I might think like, 'Should I go for this, should I play it safe?' Against someone like Rafa, it's easy to always make the aggressive decision and kind of, like, play freer.
I've been this whole tournament playing people that I guess on paper I guess I'm supposed to beat. That's honestly always tough because it's tougher to play those matches than to play the ones where maybe you're not the favorite.
You can be a lot more freer."
Nadal expects a tough match versus Fritz
Fritz and Nadal will be going head-to-head for the third time in their respective careers when they meet in the Wimbledon quarterfinal. In the 2020 Acapulco final, Nadal handed Fritz a straight-set defeat.
Fritz got his revenge over Nadal three months ago and now he is aiming to clinch back-to-back wins over the Spaniard. "He's playing well, he's having an amazing year, winning his first Masters 1000 — against me, by the way, in the final," Nadal said, drawing laughs.
"It's going to be a tough match, but we are in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon so what can I expect?" It remains to b seen if Fritz can again stun Nadal and reach his maiden Grand Slam semifinal.